


Godless

by Tarlan



Series: Threshold [2]
Category: Chronicles of Riddick (2004), Chronicles of Riddick Series
Genre: M/M, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-10-30
Updated: 2009-10-30
Packaged: 2017-10-12 23:29:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/130331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/pseuds/Tarlan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Riddick has to find a new path for the Necromongers and in doing so, he loses the one thing he values most...Vaako.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Godless

**Author's Note:**

  * For [siluria](https://archiveofourown.org/users/siluria/gifts), [taibhrigh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/taibhrigh/gifts).



  
Art created by Siluria

How do you change the direction of a whole religion? How could anyone overturn decades, perhaps centuries, of fanatical devotion within the space of a few days, weeks or even months? Riddick knew better than to even try, unwilling to force too many radical changes before he had consolidated his position as the new Lord Marshal of the Necromongers. If Aereon had thought any differently, believing that his rise to Lord Marshal would change everything, then she had been severely disappointed.

Although he had not asked for the position, something deep inside Riddick, perhaps even a part of his genetic -- his Furyan -- make-up had forced him to believe in destiny. His destiny. Like the old Arthurian legends of the boy pulling Excalibur from the stone, Riddick knew he was the rightful leader of the Necromongers. It seemed as if all the hardships of his life and all his suffering through the years had led him to this moment.

However, his destiny had held a heavy price; a price he had avoided paying for most of his life until Fry, Imam, Jack, and even Johns in his particularly nasty way, had dragged him back into the human race. Caring was a luxury he refused to consider until that fateful day on a pitch black world but, once he had tasted it, he knew it was worth the cost.

Unfortunately, with caring came responsibility, and now he had the welfare of over a million people lying heavy upon his shoulders.

Over a million Necromongers inhabited the vast fleet that traveled from world to world. Leridae, Terran, Primagen, Furyan... it no longer mattered where they had come from for their previous lives were gone, destroyed along with their planets. Now they were Necromonger, his people, and they needed to be clothed and fed. They needed materials to keep the cold vacuum of space beyond the metal walls of their homes, providing air to breathe and heat to warm their bodies. With no natural resources to call their own, and nothing to trade with the inhabited worlds remaining in this galaxy, they would have to continue taking what they needed in order to survive.

Except, Riddick would ensure they left what they did not need behind -- untouched. This was the first of the radical changes that he needed to bring about.

Planets would be conquered with as much of the infrastructure left intact as possible, allowing the inhabitants to rebuild their governments and their industries after the Necromongers had moved on. No more converts would be taken to replenish the diminishing ranks, and no more breeder lives ended needlessly. 'Convert or Fall Forever' could no longer be applied to each human they came across. Yet this was one of the corner stones of Necromonger philosophy for, according to Necroism, only the annihilation of all human life in this universe would open the threshold to UnderVerse for all.

Except Riddick knew that was a lie.

The final threshold was open to all to cross at any time, requiring only the belief in ones self to ensure ascension to a higher plane of existence. He had crossed the threshold as his first duty as Lord Marshal, discovering the truth behind the lies, that the light was waiting for all. The only ones held back, caught between this world and the next, belonged to the souls of those who were godless, believing in nothing - not even in themselves -- and to those converted to Necroism.

For the Necromongers, conversion had taken away their choice, leaving them bound in death to those who had enslaved them in life, and only those who had met an untimely death escaped the clutches of the Lord Marshals who had come before Riddick. Within the darkness, those former leaders subjugated the souls of their long dead armies, holding them back from the light as they awaited the end of all humanity in this universe.

Riddick frowned as he recalled the thousands of Necromonger souls that had raced towards the light when he ordered them to go. He wondered if the conversion process had truly worked on those souls, or if they had been like Kyra, retaining enough of their former individuality to make that bid for freedom. He smiled wryly. He had not felt Kyra among the millions of souls caught in limbo, and some sixth sense told him that she was not there. She had gone into the light.

His thoughts turned to another who had reached for an untimely death. Had the Purifier figured out the truth? Certainly, it would explain his decision to commit suicide rather than wait for a timely death. Perhaps the action of taking his own life had hidden his soul from those that waited in the darkness just beyond the threshold, freeing his spirit, and allowing him to race towards the light unchallenged.

" />

Riddick looked up and met the questioning eyes of the handsome Necromonger warrior he had taken for his mate. Vaako had healed quickly from the stabbing, gaining strength and agility with surprising speed. In some ways, this impressed Riddick. Yet, in other ways, it saddened him to see the tenacity of the Necromonger religion within the man he had grown to love, for Vaako had pushed through the pain barrier caused by his injury without any sign of discomfort. The pain was nothing to him, little more than an irritation when it ought to have been debilitating. It did not matter to Riddick that he would have healed just as rapidly, pushing his body well beyond its so-thought limitations, controlling the terrible pain with an iron will as he fought to survive.

What mattered to Riddick was the lack of vulnerability he found in Vaako. He thought he had seen a glimmer of it within the pain-filled eyes when Vaako first awoke following the stabbing, but any sign rapidly disappeared until Riddick almost believed it a figment of his imagination. Part of him had wanted to see that vulnerability, to feel it... touch it... knowing it would take him to the core of Vaako's being. Instead, walls sprang up between them as Vaako turned inwards to control the pain, focusing back on his religion.

Riddick sighed so softly that he doubted anyone would have caught it, not even his companion. Vaako was one of the strongest of those converted to Necroism, seeing his whole life as an extension of his beliefs. If he recalled anything at all from his former life then Riddick would be surprised. The Necromongers had come to Vaako's world when he was little more than a child, leaving Vaako only vague memories of a hunger and pain more torturous than the conversion process.

Vaako was a true Necromonger. If he had not had the mentality and heart of a warrior, then he would have become an acolyte of the priests, perhaps climbing to the second greatest position in Necromonger society after Lord Marshal -- Purifier.

A tiny dart of hope stabbed into him at that thought, for he knew of one Purifier who had shaken off the shackles of Necroism and stepped into the fiery hell of Crematoria against his religion. If that one could shake off this deeply ingrained faith, then maybe Vaako could too... given time.

"My Lord?"

Riddick turned back to the war table and grinned. "Sargius IV. We take what we need and then we leave. No converts, no mass destruction, no mercy killings of those who are not Necromonger."

Riddick saw Toal and Vaako exchange confused looks but Toal would never speak out of place, deferring to Vaako as First Among Commanders, and Riddick's advisor.

"We cannot cross the threshold into UnderVerse until all human life in this universe has been extinguished... and if we do not take converts then our numbers will diminish until we are unable to fulfill our destiny."

"Trust me." Riddick gave a self-assured grin that encompassed all of his commanders, his eyes holding each in turn and waiting until they fell before moving on, finally alighting on Vaako. "Trust me," he stated again.

"Always, my Lord." Vaako bowed his head but his eyes never left Riddick's, glittering in barely concealed concern that revealed a growing distrust.

Riddick knew his flaunting of the Necromonger way had seriously bewildered his companion, leaving Vaako filled with uncertainty. Vaako wanted to trust him, and he had already bowed to his desire to trust when he accepted life at Riddick's side rather than death at his hands. However, just as Vaako had been manipulated into challenging Riddick for the position of Lord Marshal, Riddick knew it could happen again with another of his commanders. He could already see Toal questioning his decisions though he knew Scalp Taker and Scales would not waste time trying to convince Vaako into issuing a second challenge. They would formulate their own plans this time, driven by their conniving companions who sought ultimate power as consort to a Lord Marshal -- just as Dame Vaako had sought it through Vaako.

What his lesser commanders did not know, though, was that he was one of the half-dead, and Riddick was careful not to allow any knowledge of this to reach his subordinates. Only Vaako knew of the half-dead status that allowed Riddick to move between 'Verses, giving him an undeniable tactical advantage over his Necromonger commanders should he choose to exploit it, as Zhylaw had done. However, years in Slam had taught Riddick to conceal such an advantage from a potential enemy, using it only as a last resort. In truth, he knew his fighting skills far outweighed those of any of his commanders -- including Vaako -- so he would be able to keep this secret from them until the time was right.

He grimaced as his commanders turned back to the battle plan. Trust me, he had said, silently wishing he could trust them with the plan that was slowly formulating in his head as he thought of the billions of souls trapped between this universe and the next. He knew they were as much a part of his destiny as those still living in this 'verse.

Riddick listened as Vaako suggested battle plans that would enable them to subdue the four major industrialized centers on Sargius where they processed the ores and organics. He nodded in approval of the plan drawn up, agreeing to the decisions made for the command of each separate attack on the cities even though a part of him was reluctant to let Vaako lead one of them. However, Riddick knew better than to deny Vaako his rightful place on the battlefield, knowing it would undermine more than just his position as First Among Commanders. It would drive a wedge between them too if he felt Riddick did not trust him as a warrior.

"How long until planet fall?"

Vaako glanced over his shoulder towards the Necromonger officer at the helm controls, his intention clear, and the officer responded immediately. "Four hours and forty-two minutes, my Lord."

Riddick nodded.

"Remember... in and out. We're not here to conquer this world, just to take what we need." He turned to Vaako. "Get the army ready and then meet me in our chambers," he murmured, knowing the Necromonger army required little in the name of preparation. They had performed this same ritual on a hundred different worlds, working as a well-oiled machine that cared not for glory -- only death. Death was no enemy to them. The death of another human would bring them one step closer to the threshold, and should they fight well and fall in battle then they would be assured a place in the UnderVerse. It was a win-win situation. Except, final preparations this time required ordering the soldiers to kill only those who fought back, and to leave the rest of the population of the planet unharmed.

****

An hour passed before the door to their chamber opened and Vaako stepped through. Riddick poured a second goblet of wine and placed it on the tabletop, waiting quietly as Vaako approached and picked it up. In the dimly-lit room, he had an advantage over his companion, and Riddick used it to appraise the handsome man standing before him as he waited for Vaako's eyes to adjust.

Vaako took a few sips of the wine before replacing the goblet on the table. Then, with a flutter of his lips into a half-smile, he removed shoulder and arm guards before reaching for the catches to his cuirass. Moving down his body slowly, he placed each piece on the floor ready to be snapped back on later, until he stood clad only in the form-hugging underclothes. Vaako's smile twitched and Riddick's cock twitched in response though every other part of him remained still. He waited with outward patience while his innards went crazy with desire as Vaako began to pull the final layer of clothing from his pale flesh, letting it drop in a pool around his feet.

Vaako took a single step forward as Riddick's 'shined' eyes cut through the darkness, lured by the glow of alabaster skin like a moth to flame.

"Ethereal," he rumbled in a low voice, almost imagining Vaako as one of those pesky Elementals, with his skin shimmering as he floated across the floor into Riddick's arms. Riddick dipped his face towards Vaako, breathing in the masculine scent of his lover from the strong chest to the curve of an ear. "Beautiful," he whispered hoarsely as the heat of desire sent delicious sensations racing through his body. He licked the length of the pale, vulnerable throat from collar bone to ear, tasting the musk that had already set his senses on fire.

Strong arms reached out to grasp the hem of his vest, slowly raising the tight-fitting material to expose his duskier flesh. With supernatural speed, Riddick pulled off the vest, discarding it without care or thought, and he sighed as long pale fingers began to tease the small nubs of his nipples, bringing them to hard points.

Riddick gasped softly as Vaako lowered his head to lap at one nipple, feeling the wet velvet rasp of the tongue across the sensitive nub. He shuddered with desire, drawing Vaako back up and devouring his mouth in hungry kisses as those lithe fingers unsnapped his pants and slipped between material and skin to grasp his hardening erection.

Riddick moaned into the open, welcoming mouth, dueling with the agile tongue -- sucking, licking, biting at the kiss-softened lips as Vaako drew him to the edge of orgasm.

He pulled away from the eager hand, breathing hard and fast as he stared into Vaako's desire-darkened eyes. Another swift move and Vaako was half sprawled across the table, goblets scattering, spilling their precious liquid across the surface and onto the floor beneath. Riddick's hands smoothed down the broad back from shoulder to ass, mapping the familiar ridges of bone and scar tissue on butter-soft flesh. He leaned over his lover, nudging one knee between the strong thighs to spread Vaako's legs further apart. Vaako's back arched as Riddick licked from the base of his spine to the nape of his neck, exposing the vulnerable pale column of his throat, and Riddick continued his oral assault, licking and sucking on one Necromonger scar, enjoying the soft whimper Vaako could no longer contain.

"So sensitive," Riddick breathed against the scar tissue, feeling fresh desire rippling through his lover.

Slowly, he worked his way back down the submissive body, licking and sucking, bringing a flush of color to the deathly white flesh. He licked between the firm ass cheeks, feeling the quiver of muscle as his tongue brushed over the equally sensitive entrance to his lover's beautiful body.

Riddick reached into the pocket of his opened pants, drawing out a small vial of scented oil. With firm yet gentle strokes, he pushed first one, then a second oiled finger inside the tight hole, slowly loosening the muscle while his other hand reached beneath his lover's body to grasp Vaako's hardened shaft, thumb teasing the sensitive head as he brought Vaako to the brink of release before letting go. Anointing his own shaft with oil, Riddick grasped one pale hip as he lined up against the loosened muscle, his hips pushing forward as he breached the muscle, slowly sinking into the inferno of Vaako's body.

"So good. So tight," he whispered as he inched into the tight sheath of flesh, pausing only when he could sink no further.

Riddick leaned over the strong back, the soft gasps of mingled pleasure and pain, music to his ears. He drew back slowly until only the head remained inside the tight channel, and then plunged in hard, drawing a cry of pleasure as his shaft found that special place inside. Vaako pushed back in counter point to his thrust, impaling himself upon Riddick's hard flesh and sending sparks of pleasure racing through Riddick, turning his blood to liquid fire.

Again and again, he plundered the pale flesh, one hand reaching beneath to grasp Vaako once more, pumping the velvet steel shaft until he felt the shudder of release rippled through Vaako, muscles tightening in pleasure as scalding semen pulsed across his busy hand. Only then did Riddick give into his own pleasure, wet fingers smearing spent semen across Vaako's hip as he held on tight and thrust deep into the still-spasming channel, grunting out his release as his senses spiraled out of control.

Riddick slumped over the broad back, listening to the rapid beat of his lover's heart and the soft litany of praise and adoration falling from Vaako's kiss-bruised lips in barely a whisper. Several minutes passed before he found the mental strength required to pull away from the perspiring back, his softened shaft slipping from his lover.

Vaako pushed upright, glancing over his shoulder at Riddick just once before walking away, and Riddick could not help but sigh in loss, even as he admired the retreating form. Riddick followed Vaako to the cleansing room, showering swiftly and accepting the clean, dry towel from his silent lover. From the threshold of the room, he watched as Vaako pulled back on first his underclothes and then his body armor.

"My Lord... I must join my men and prepare for battle."

Riddick nodded and watched Vaako leave with a heavy heart as a feeling of dread coiled in the pit of his stomach.

A few hours later, the armada reached Sargius IV and Riddick grimaced as the conquest icon struck the very center of the Sargian capital city. The air swarmed with Necro fighters as they peeled off the sides of the icon, clearing the airspace to allow the Sarcophagus ships to land. Troops poured out of the vast ships, rapidly spreading through the city, herding the screaming masses of humanity before them but, for once in their history, not taking any life except in defense.

Riddick knew this same scene was being played out in the three other cities. Though he was interested in the outcome from all the attacks, his heart and mind listened only for the sound of Vaako's voice as Vaako commanded his troops through the northern city.

Riddick led his troops against weak resistance, fighting his way through a company of militia who were ill-equipped to go up against the Necromonger army, until he reached the industrial center. Necromongers followed, quickly raiding the city of valuable metals, food, and water, taking all they could carry back to the great ships.

Reports from the other attacks filtered through, and Riddick heard Toal's triumphant roar as his men began to ransack the southernmost city having met little resistance from the relatively peaceful Sargians. Gradually, the troops returned to their ships having suffered far fewer losses than anyone had anticipated. Yet Riddick could not relax or rejoice in this news for he had not heard Vaako's voice in more than an hour.

On his command, the sarcophagus ships began to lift off the surface, joined by those that had landed in the south and west. Riddick leaned forward as a report came in from the northern city from Vaako's second-in-command, Kerus.

"My Lord, we have met strong resistance in the city. We require reinforcements if we are to take the smelting plants."

"Lord Vaako?"

"Unknown, my Lord. His squad were ambushed near the center. None have returned."

With fear stilling his heart, Riddick turned to the helmsman. "Take us to the north."

****

From high above, the northern city seemed to pulse with light and life but, as they descended through wispy clouds, Riddick could see the fires raging through the center of the city unchecked. The great stairs fanned open as he strode from the Necropolis but Riddick's step never faltered as he walked towards the edge of the top step, nostrils flaring as he inhaled the scent of burning drifting on the breeze. In the distance, he could hear the whine of gunfire echoing through the night, the strident noise vying with the lower crackle and rumble of the fires as buildings caved in.

Necromonger soldiers swarmed out of the sarcophagus ships to reinforce those already fighting on the ground, and Riddick strode down the steps to join them, his cloak flaring out behind him. Second Level Commander Jacek followed with his hand poised on his gun and night vision goggles propped over his eyes. Riddick needed no technology to see into a darkness that parted in small bursts where explosive flames licked the sky.

He paused. Somewhere among the tumbling buildings, among the small infernos, and the battling armies was his First Among Commanders, his advisor, companion... his lover.

A figure hurried towards him, with cuirass dulled by charcoaled smoke and pitted by gunfire. One of Vaako's Second Level Commanders drew off his helmet to reveal sweat soaked features streaked with dirt and blood.

"My Lord Riddick, the fighting in the center is intense. The Sargians must have been forewarned of our approach for they concentrated most of their armies into protecting this one city."

Riddick gave a grim smile. "Makes me wonder why," he murmured.

The capital city of Sargia IV stood in the east, with its royal court and palaces, and its great cathedral that spired into the sky high above. Riddick had ordered his men not to touch the palaces and cathedral, having no reason to destroy the Sargian's royal family or its cultural and religious center. His people did not need the baubles that graced those stately walls and hallways -- though some among his people would covet the jewels, wishing to adorn their throats, wrists, and fingers with precious stones.

Riddick had never understood this need to indulge in the trappings of ornamental splendor, seeing more beauty in the naked alabaster flesh of his lover than in the sparkle of the most highly prized diamond. He felt more wonder in the feel of coarse, yet silken flesh beneath his fingertips than in the finest gossamer thread adorning another's body.

His chest ached at those thoughts, his fingertips tingling in remembrance of stroking and caressing his lover's pale skin as he thrust deep inside that perfect body. Riddick's silvered eyes swept the ruined city lying before him, as if searching for a sign from a god he no longer wanted nor loved that would lead him to Vaako. He unclasped the cloak and let it fall, to ripple at his feet like a dark puddle, before stepping away, moving silently into the shadows of the night like a wraith.

He gave swift orders to Jacek.

Vaako's commander tried to follow but Riddick left him behind within minutes, using hard muscle and quick feet to climb through fallen masonry, moving swiftly towards Vaako's last known position.

Several times, the thud of marching feet brought him spinning into ink-dark shadows, his back pressed up against cold brick, all movement stilled as he watched the passing soldiers, both Necromonger and Sargian. As if in deja vu, he watched impassively as two battalions clashed, eyes narrowing as Necromonger soldiers advanced without shrinking in the face of death, sending the fear of god into the hearts of their enemy. Sargians fled from the battle in disarray, ignoring the shouts of their officers who ordered them to stand their ground -- for the Queen.

'Ah yes,' thought Riddick, understanding why the Sargians defended the northern city so fiercely. They had removed their royal family to the most heavily fortified city, leaving only token forces to defend the rest of the planet. It explained the ease in which his army had neutralized the forces within the south, west, and eastern cities. Riddick almost barked out a laugh at the irony, wondering how these soldiers would react if they discovered he had never had any interest in their Queen.

How many of them had given their lives for such a noble, yet wasted cause?

As he picked his way through the center, Riddick spotted the bodies of a cohort of Necromonger soldiers. He dropped down beside the one bearing the most ornate armor. Laser fire had torn away half of the man's face but Riddick recognized what was left. This had been Gervan, Vaako's right hand on the battlefield. Swiftly, Riddick walked through the corpses littering what had once been a small market square, flipping over bodies to see those lying beneath, his teeth clenched tight in fear of what -- or whom - he might find.

Occasional soft moans caught at his hearing from those of his men who had not succumbed to their wounds, and with a compassion that many would not understand, he dispatched those who suffered from mortal injury. Others, he dragged to their feet and ordered back to the sarcophagus ships, and the Necromonger doctors who waited there. Barely did he stop to watch as they leaned heavily on one another, staggering away through burning streets. He would not dog their steps, protecting them against Sargian enemies, leaving their continued survival in the hands of the uncaring gods of Necroism. Of the Sargian forces, only the dead and dying remained, and he showed them equal mercy.

Of Vaako there was no sign, and hope flared in his heart as he followed the trail of devastation through narrow streets towards the citadel close to the center of the old city. His eyes flicked along the strong walls, seeking and finding weaknesses in its construction, weaknesses that would give a lone man access to its innermost walls. Reason dictated that, should they have captured Vaako alive, then they would have taken him into the citadel to be interrogated.

Riddick smiled grimly at that thought, knowing there was little physical torture they could inflict upon his lover's body. Vaako was a true Necromonger, borne from the ashes of his old existence through terrible pain and suffering until physical torment meant nothing. He would hold no fear of death for they both knew it was the beginning, not the end of his existence. Strangely, that thought gave Riddick little comfort, even though he had seen the supernova burning brightly in the center of UnderVerse, understanding its significance as the souls of the free sped into its light. However, the soul of his Vaako would not race towards the light, too bound by his religion to escape the clutches of the former Lord Marshal Zhylaw and, perhaps, suffering to eternity at the hands of that monster for his part in Zhylaw's promotion to full-dead.

Riddick could not allow that to happen.

With graceful economy of movement, he sped to the base of the citadel, leaping high for the first tiny indentation in the ancient wall, a space barely deep enough for his fingertips. Biceps flexed as those fingers held the solid weight of his firmly muscled frame, his other hand swinging up to find the next almost impossible handhold while the sides of his boots dug into the crumbling mortar between the deep blocks of stone. Hand over hand, he climbed upwards at a speed that would be envied by professional mountaineers. Sweat poured from his straining body, stinging his eyes and threatening the hold of his fingertips had they not constantly brushed across brick dust to keep them dry.

He grunted softly as he reached the top and dragged his body over the parapet, dropping silently to the stone rampart, and quickly diving into the heavy shadows as a sentry turned in his direction. Riddick could see the angle of the man's head, the curiosity and fear of the small sound he had heard. Tentatively, the sentry moved forward, eyes peering into the pitch black. Riddick had no such limitation to his vision, waiting until the sentry drew too close and whipping out. A single blow caught the man across the throat, crushing the larynx and effectively silencing the soldier, removing him from this life. Riddick dragged the corpse into the deep shadows, hiding it from view and hoping the sentry would not be missed for some time.

Knowing speed was essential, he made his way inside, keeping close to the wall as he descended to the lower levels before following the stone corridors deeper inside the citadel. Bare walls slowly gave way to increasing opulence. Arras -- richly woven tapestries -- adorned the walls, hiding alcoves and windows from the casual observer but Riddick could sense no sentience hiding behind them. Tales from the past inferred that Vaako would be taken to dungeons hidden deep inside the cellars but logic dictated that his captors would wish to bring him before their generals first.

He slid behind one of the arras as booted feet echoed along the corridor, peering through the slit between tapestry and wall as Sargian soldiers passed by, escorting captured Necromongers.

The sound of flesh hitting flesh brought Riddick to the threshold of an extravagantly decorated office. He could see the shape of a man hanging loosely between two guards, a man wearing the undergarments of a Necromonger. Another quick glance told Riddick all he needed to know. This man was not Vaako. He would recognize the physique of his lover anywhere, having mapped every curve and hollow of the firm flesh with tongue and hand, committing all to memory.

Doubt crept into his mind. What if he was wrong? What if they had not captured Vaako, or they did not realize the importance of that one captured Necromonger among so many?

Instinct told Riddick to backtrack and follow the Necromonger prisoners to see where the Sargians were taking them. Perhaps Vaako would be there. He trailed them along the stone corridors, down dark staircases and into the courtyard below, keeping close to the shadows. Anger rose inside him as he watched his wounded and battered soldiers tied to the front of armed vehicles, to be used as living shields. The blood covered faces held no emotion, no fear of death, as befitting a Necromonger, seeing this as their chance to reach UnderVerse. Riddick could not see Vaako but he sensed his presence among the mass of soldiers, prisoners and vehicles. He crept closer as the Sargian army began to form into ranks, ready to press forward in defense of their city and their Queen. As the gates opened, Riddick caught sight of the familiar form, bowed over, hanging almost limply from the front of a heavily armored staff car. Several of his braids fell over his shoulder while the remaining hair hung loose like a dark shroud, concealing more of his handsome face. They had stripped all of the ornate armor from his body, leaving his feet bare and his frame covered in the tattered remnants of his undergarment.

Riddick's mouth tightened in anger.

They had to know Vaako was a military leader though Riddick seriously doubted they knew how important he was to the Lord Marshal of the Necromongers -- to him. The sound of footsteps echoing on the stone balcony above his head drew Riddick's attention away from his abused lover and he snarled as he heard voices drifting down.

"Prince Akram, the army is ready to drive back the Necromongers."

"Good." Riddick heard triumph in the man's voice. "It appears that this so called army of darkness is not the invincible foe our lost friends on Erideth led us to believe. We shall vanquish them yet."

"My prince..." Riddick heard the disquiet in the servant's voice. "The men are not happy using the prisoners in this way. It goes against the code for--"

"Enough. They say these Necromongers have no fear of death... perhaps this will put fear into their hearts when they must kill their own to reach our forces."

"Reports from the other cities state that these Necromongers are ransacking the smelting plants and factories, taking away materials and food but nothing more. Their ships are already leaving the surface--"

"So they can strike at us from orbit and destroy all that remains. No. We must fight back now with all means at our disposal... to save the Queen. We go into battle."

A single set of footsteps receded and Riddick climbed up onto the balcony, drawing the shiv from his boot before lunging at the solitary man. Seconds later, he held the man in a stranglehold, with the blade pressed against a scrawny throat.

"You got something of mine. I get what I want and I might even let you live," Riddick growled low into the ear close to his mouth. He dragged the man inside, and through the opulent sitting room to the stone corridor beyond, pulling him behind a heavy tapestry at the sound of approaching boot steps. He pressed the tip of the shiv against the vulnerable throat to warn his prisoner into silence, almost feeling the weight of a single droplet of blood on the sharp surface. Once the immediate danger had passed by, Riddick half-dragged his prisoner down the stairs.

The remainder of the Sargian army began to move out slowly and Riddick followed, using the movement of the troops to cover his own as he slipped out of the citadel with his captive. If Second Level Commander Jacek had obeyed his orders, then the Necromonger army would be amassing on the far side of the great square standing outside the citadel. It took time to cross the square for he was forced to work around the far edge, knowing the direct route would be suicidal even with his prisoner.

As he rounded the final corner, Riddick stepped out of the shadow, coming face to face with Jacek.

"My Lord." Jacek bowed deeply before looking to the Sargian prisoner questioningly.

"Plan a prisoner exchange." Riddick nodded to two Necromonger soldiers, who stepped forward to take charge of his prisoner.

"Then you have seen Lord Vaako?"

"Could say that."

Riddick raised his arms as Jacek snapped the heavy Necromonger cuirass around his body. Thigh and calf guards followed but Riddick left his arms bare.

"My Lord... we have taken all that we need from the city."

Riddick nodded once, almost perfunctorily. All he needed now was his lover returned to his side. Only then would he order the Necromonger army to return to the ships and prepare to depart.

Silence fell about the square as the Sargian army finished maneuvering into place beneath the citadel wall and Riddick ordered his army to move out of the shadows to face their adversary. After a simple nod of his head towards the two guards, Riddick strode out, knowing the guards would follow with his prisoner.

'Let the bartering begin,' Riddick thought as his shined eyes swept across the Sargian army, seeking his lover's battered form.

****

Vaako raised his head a fraction when he felt the rumble of the engine throb through his aching body. Pain was nothing to him but that did not mean he did not feel the debilitating effects from the beating he had taken at the hands of the Sargians.

His thoughts floated back to several hours earlier, when he led part of his attack force towards the industrial center. Word came quickly from the outer flanks that they had met stronger resistance than anticipated but this had not worried Vaako unduly. He knew his Necromonger army was more than a match for what little opposition this small city could muster. Only when it was too late did he realize the Sargians had moved the majority of their sizable army to defend this one city, leaving the rest of the planet barely protected. By the time he realized his mistake, his personal attack force were surrounded.

They fought back hard but the end result was inevitable against such overwhelming numbers, except he had not expected to survive the encounter to become their captive. Vaako smiled sardonically, knowing the Sargians had not taken him without a fight. His standard bearer had fallen before activating the miniature gravity pulse that would have crushed everything -- man and material -- within a thirty foot circumference. Though Vaako fought towards the standing staff weapon, seeking to activate it himself, he had not made it. He had maimed and slain dozens before the sheer force of numbers overcame him and the only surprise was that they did not kill him outright. Yet even as he fell before their combined weight, he kept fighting, and kicking, and punching, with his head slamming into unprotected faces until he could no longer move.

Now, as he hung limply from the framework erected at the front of the armored car, he cursed his stupidity in underestimating his opposition. Hundreds of his men had paid the price for his arrogance though they, at least, had met an honorable and timely death, assuring them a place in UnderVerse to await the dawn of the new age. His demise would be far less noble, most likely slaughtered by his own people, who would not falter to kill their own when they came face to face with this Sargian army.

He snorted softly in self derision, raising his head a fraction more as the vehicle began to trundle forward. When the order came, his people would kill him without remorse, and without compassion. They would see his death as timely, and they would celebrate it. However, for the first time in his Necromonger existence, Vaako felt a shadow of doubt creep through him. He knew the cause of that doubt: Riddick.

How many nights had he lain beside that enigmatic man, his body still thrumming from the pleasure taken and given? How many nights had Riddick filled the afterglow with gravel soft words describing his long journey through UnderVerse? Vaako had not wanted to believe him, often rolling away from Riddick's caress lest those words settle too closely in his heart and mind, stripping away all that Vaako had left -- his faith.

As the vehicle passed through the gates of the citadel, some of those words came back to him.

'Run for the light,' Riddick had said. 'If you die before me... don't wait in the pitch black... run for the light.'

It made no sense for Vaako had never run from anything or anyone, not even in the few shattered memories from his life before being born to Necroism. Yet Riddick had seemed emphatic about this, his strong fingers gripping Vaako's chin tightly, his dark eyes boring into Vaako's with an intensity that demanded obedience... or death. Vaako could not understand Riddick's fear. Surely the honor of joining the ranks of the undead Necromonger army was nothing to fear, only to celebrate?

He had no time to dwell on those words then but now they came back to haunt him, sending a chill into his heart as he considered his imminent death. Who should he believe? The long line of former Lord Marshals who had passed through UnderVerse and gloried in what they had found there, reaffirming his faith? Or Riddick, the man who had taken captive his heart and soul, who had also seen UnderVerse with his shined eyes, yet recalled only horror rather than joy?

Why had Riddick's vision of that place differed from those who had gone before him?

Vaako hated to admit that either Riddick's lack of faith in Necroism had blinded him to the truth, or it had revealed the blindness of the faithful who had gone before him. Real doubts flooded through Vaako but they were swiftly buried as the vehicle lurched to a halt, jarring his abused and battered body. He felt all manner of aches and pains from where the Sargian soldiers had beaten him mercilessly, and studiously, he ignored them as he gazed ahead. In the distance he could see the Necromonger army in the shadows at the edge of the market square, and he felt momentary pride at their stillness. To either side of him, Vaako could sense the ill ease of the Sargian soldiers as they stared at their emotionless foe.

His cracked and bloodied lips pulled into a triumphant smile.

As he watched, a figure stepped out from the row of Necromongers, and Vaako knew that man instantly: Riddick, his lover, his commander, and his lord. Confusion narrowed his eyes as two soldiers followed, escorting another man between them. As they drew closer, Vaako recognized the third man as a Sargian prisoner.

A prisoner exchange?

In the encroaching darkness of the market square, Vaako knew his lover could see him easily through his surgically altered eyes and, silently, he wished he had that special vision too. Instead, he let his memory of the strong frame, of the silken flesh and steel muscles fill his inner sight.

They had coupled just before separating to take the resources of this world, and Vaako could still feel echoes of those blunt yet agile fingers upon his flesh, searing him with his touch, setting his senses aflame with desire and need. No one else had ever made him feel so good, so complete... so satisfied. Even his former companion, for all her vaunted sexual prowess, had never turned his blood to liquid fire, melting his limbs and turning his muscles to gel. Every kiss and caress went soul deep, and the feel of Riddick's hard flesh thrusting within his body sent his spirit soaring like Icarus reaching for the sun, only to fall... fall... fall... into the strong, protective arms banded around him.

'Run to the light,' Riddick had whispered hoarsely before pulling away. Vaako had hated the loss of the heated body pressed against his back, had hated the loss of the thick shaft that filled him... and he had hated the fresh erosion of his faith caused by those words. He had stood upright and walked away with barely a backward glance, knowing Riddick would follow him into the cleansing room. Desperately, he wished he could have given in to that part of him that craved the affection Riddick might have offered but they were about to go into battle, and this was sex, not love. Love had no place in a Necromonger's heart. Love was for the weak and for the foolish, or so he tried to convince himself as he pulled on his armor and rejoined the troops he would lead into battle.

His thoughts returned to the present when Riddick spoke. His voice was deep but strong, like the man, reverberating through Vaako like an echo of his lover's caress.

"You have something of mine... and I have something of yours. You give me what I want, and I'll give you back your prince."

"You expect us to believe a Necromonger?"

"No... I expect you to believe me."

"And when you have what you want in exchange for our prince... what then?"

"Then we leave."

"Just like you have left a thousand other worlds... dead in your wake."

Vaako was more confused than ever, knowing Riddick was actually attempting to make some sort of exchange with these people... but for what? The Necromongers could take what they wanted; in fact, they had already taken all the materials they needed from this world, just as Riddick had ordered. Nothing remained of importance except the people, and Riddick had wanted no new converts. With shock, Vaako realized that left only the captured Necromongers... including him. Or especially him. Yet, he was a casualty of the battle, important only while he served the Necromonger cause as a warrior.

Never before had any Lord Marshal considered the return of prisoners taken in battle. They were an accepted loss, and easily replenished from the ranks of the newly converted. In addition, Zhylaw the Great would leave behind even those foot soldiers who could not reach the Necromonger ships before the fleet lifted off, condemning them to the same fate as the planet's inhabitants. Or at least, the same fate as those whom the Necromongers had deemed unworthy of conversion: those too young, too old or infirm.

He felt the slightest thrill that Riddick might have a personal reason for wanting him returned, having been unwilling to believe in any proclamations of affection from Riddick. Then Vaako recalled the battle plans.

'But there will be no converts to replenish the ranks,' Vaako thought suddenly, only now realizing the enormity of Riddick's decision to leave the main population of the planet untouched. Every warrior lost this day could not be replaced, including him. That was why he wanted to retrieve as many of the Necromongers as he could. That was why he wanted him back.

A small part of Vaako died inside, crushed by a wave of bitterness and regret before even that was swept away as he hardened his mind, forcing out the weakness. 'Love is for the weak and for the foolish,' he repeated silently.

"Let's just say, the Necromongers are under new management," Riddick stated blandly but Vaako could sense that the Sargian General was not convinced.

Vaako saw the General in his peripheral vision, watching as the man drew close. His gloved hand reached out to clasp Vaako's chin, raising his face.

"Is this what you want?" The General called softly, his thumb brushing Vaako's torn lip in the mockery of a lover's caress.

Vaako could almost feel the tension crackling the air. His eyes widened slightly as he heard the soft swish of a knife leaving its sheath. The thump into his stomach rushed the air from him but, otherwise, he felt no pain yet Vaako knew what he would see if he looked down. A scream of rage and grief accompanied the fatal blow, its intensity stunning Vaako and instead, he looked up as Riddick made to cross the gap separating them. Despite the darkness, Vaako's vision seemed crystal clear, locked on the grief stricken face that had become bloodless with shock.

The first fiery shock wave of pain radiated upwards, and he coughed, tasting the metallic of blood filling his mouth to overflow and trickle down his chin. The General had tensed moments after plunging the knife into him, eyes widening in shocked disbelief. Now, he turned stiffly, and Vaako's eyes flicked down to see the wicked blade buried hilt-deep between the man's shoulder blades. Vaako looked back up as the General sank to his knees before him, and his eyes locking with Riddick's as his vision began to fade. Words were whispered on the silent air, following him down into death... 'run for the light'.

****

Riddick stared at the miniature icon that rose from the console. Its ornate handle consisted of three faces looking out in different directions with each representing the astral faces of the Lord Marshal, and his all-seeing eyes.

'All-seeing,' he thought with a sneer. 'Already seen too much.'

"Ascension protocol," he snapped and another icon arose, this time in the form of a twisted figure clinging to the handle, reminding him of his own torment. He wanted to close his eyes but he knew what images would be awaiting him in the darkness. His all-seeing eyes had seen the knife slip from its sheath and sink with ease into his lover's flesh. So sharp, Vaako had not even registered its razor edge buried deep in his gut... at least, not in those first few seconds. For a moment, as their eyes locked, he thought he might have been wrong. Perhaps there was no knife... just a fist. Then Vaako choked and coughed, spewing blood that ran in a rivulet down his bruised chin.

"Run for the light," he had whispered in the stunned silence, knowing he could not save his beloved Vaako... not in this life. He could not even retrieve his body, forced to turn and walk away empty handed, his eyes passing over the terrified ones of Prince Akram without compassion, neither ordering the man's death nor requesting that he should live. Let those who guarded the man seal his fate by offering him timely death or conversion to Necroism. Riddick did not care which it would be. The man who had slain his lover was already dead, and he would see the rest of them pay for what they had done.

Rage and grief fought within him, tearing apart his soul, as he recalled the beautiful man he had chosen as his companion... as his mate; his hand reached for the handle.

"I understand your grief but you cannot blame a whole planet for the acts of a single man."

Riddick glanced sideways at Aereon, his mouth set in a tight line as the fury rose within him. Every nerve ending sparked and every sinew of muscle and tendon strained as he fought the urge to tell Aereon to go to hell... and then destroy Sargia IV.

He had barely known Fry, Imam... had barely known Jack. He had known them for what amounted to just a few days in his hard life, and yet their deaths had shocked him, and hurt him. In contrast, he had known Vaako for months. He had fought beside him, and with him, though they had sparred more with words than with blades in recent weeks. He knew every line of the tall, strong body; knew every scar, every curve of muscle, every crease from the lines of a frown to the crinkle of a smile. He had made love to that body, to that man, touching and caressing, licking and biting the pale flesh, teasing the small nub of a nipple and plundering both mouth and ass with long, deep strokes, knowing he did not need to be gentle. Yet, even in their roughest play as he held onto Vaako with a bruising grip of fingers, his thoughts had been gentle, and his heart had melted in... in love.

He had loved Vaako.

He had loved to touch him, talk with him, and even just watch him as he slept, sated and boneless, in the bed beside him. Riddick closed his eyes tightly but he could not stop the first tears of his adult life from seeping between the lashes, their heat scoring his flesh as they raced down his cheeks, catching momentarily in the corner of his compressed lips.

He had been in-love with Vaako. Was still in-love with Vaako, and every fiber of his being screamed out in his grief as his hand settled over the icon handle. Forearm muscles shook, his knuckles whitened from the tight grip. He wanted them all to die... all of them... all of humanity. They had no right to live when Vaako was dead.

The small, warm fingers which rested over his shaking hand were light as a feather and yet they offered comfort as he wept quietly. They curled around his cold hand, squeezing gently, as he regained control of his emotions.

"He won't have gone to the light," Riddick whispered raggedly as he looked down at the small Elemental woman. "He was a warrior... a Necromonger."

"Then it is time to lead them all to the light," she stated simply, and all the strain leeched from Riddick's taut frame, with his muscles relaxing and his grip on the icon loosening. She did not remove her soft hand from his even as he let go of the icon handle, her fingers curling around his instead.

Riddick looked deep into her seemingly ancient eyes.

He knew that extinguishing all human life in this 'verse had never been a necessity for crossing into UnderVerse. The former Lord Marshals of the Necromongers had perpetuated that fallacy for different reasons -- or perhaps for the same reason -- the building of an undead army that would storm into the next universe and rule over it for all time. Her soft words continued.

"Covu had been insane with grief for his murdered wife and children. After seeing them beyond the threshold, he became bent on the destruction of all human life in this universe--"

"Why were they there?" Riddick asked tiredly, his grief having sapped his energy. He scrubbed the back of his hand across his face to remove the tracks of his tears

Aereon's face crinkled into a frown before her eyes widened, as if some elusive detail had finally revealed itself. "I had not considered..." She looked up at Riddick in shock.

Riddick nodded, understanding the thoughts that swirled through her calculating mind because he shared them. The woman and her children should have gone into the light yet they had lingered beyond the threshold. What had held them back from the light? Covu had begun his extermination of all human life after seeing them, and Riddick did not believe this to be a coincidence. He turned to face his navigation and helm officers.

"To the threshold," he ordered, and watched as they obeyed without question. As he gazed out through the front view screen, Riddick reached back through the coldness chilling his soul to his last memory of Vaako's warm body writhing beneath his. Already, it seemed as if a lifetime had passed since he held his lover in his arms and he shivered as the coldness of his loss went deeper than the mere physical.

Somewhere beyond the threshold, Vaako would be waiting with the dead Necromonger army, caught between the two 'verses, and Riddick intended to find him and set him free.

****

Vaako glided through the darkness in silence, uncertain where he was and why. His last true memory was of Riddick, seeing the anguish in the handsome face, hearing his cry of rage and grief as the darkness began to close in around him... and then the quiet, emotion-choked words, 'run for the light'.

He gazed around him. In the distance, he could make out a pinpoint of light and he pushed towards it uneasily. Faint lights flickered around him from time to time as the souls of the more recently dead sped by him. These ones seemed certain of the way, racing ahead until their spiritual essence was lost in the darkness once more. Others moved more carefully, paralleling him for a time before darting off. Yet, a few more of those departed souls stayed with him, falling in behind him, and he recognized the clothing on these astral projections. They were his people. Necromongers who had fallen in battle with the Sargians, and they followed him in death as they had in life. Except, this time Vaako had no clue where he should lead them.

Riddick had told him to run to the light, as if he feared whatever lay in this limbo between 'verses.

The light grew in size with each passing moment, almost blinding in its intensity and yet it was a cold light that did not spill into the grey limbo surrounding it. Already, it seemed as if days had passed since he began this journey. The numbers following him had swelled into hundreds and Vaako wondered if many of these were lost Necromonger souls drawn to the light of the ever-increasing mass of spirits in his company. Though his progress was slow, he knew he was drawing closer to the light and he estimated it would take him another week to make the journey where so many other spirits raced past at phenomenal speed.

Vaako understood why his progress was so slow, for doubts filled his thoughts as he recalled all that Riddick had spoken of from his journey to this place. Somewhere in this gray world lay the army of the Necromongers, caught between 'verses until all human life within one universe had ended. Except Riddick believed they were trapped by their undying faith in their former Lord Marshals rather than by some law ordained by whatever god created each universe. He believed their faith in Necroism, and in the Lord Marshals who embodied that faith, had prevented them from finding the path into UnderVerse, leaving their souls in torment.

What if all Riddick said was true?

Vaako recalled something else. Riddick had said his journey through this gray limbo took many months and yet he had been gone for but a single day. Temporal physics had never been one of Vaako's strong points so he had questioned this with one of the scientists only to be told a simple known truth. Time was relative to each universe, possibly even to each observer no matter that it could seemingly be measured. He thought about it, recalling how his perception of time changed according to his circumstances, of how seconds elongated as he faced danger, and of how hours passed far too swiftly as he lay sated in Riddick's arms.

Riddick. As ever his thoughts returned to his Lord Marshal... his lover.

Perhaps it was the terrible grief he had heard in Riddick's voice as the General's knife plunged into his body. Or perhaps it was the shock-whitened face with those luminous eyes so wide and large in horror and disbelief, but Vaako recognized in death what he had refused to see in life, that Riddick had loved him.

His soul cried out in grief, only now able to acknowledge that he had loved him in turn. He stared at the every-increasing disk of light, suddenly afraid that if he stepped across this second threshold then he might never be reunited with Riddick.

"Perhaps it would be better if I waited at the edge, for however long it took," he whispered into the silence, only to hear the soft murmuring of the souls around him as they echoed his words.

More days passed, and though he glanced at his companions to either side constantly, no one spoke to him. Yet, he could see the loyalty in their dead eyes as they followed their 'First Among Commanders'. He could feel their faith surrounding them and encompassing him too, adding to his discomfort as they drew closer and closer to the center of this place of limbo. Ahead, the light blazed, almost filling the path ahead of him, beckoning to him, but Vaako faltered as a thin mist of light spread out before him, blocking his path.

As he drew closer, he realized the milky band consisted of individual spirits; millions upon millions of spirits. He had found the Necromonger army... or they had found him. As he approached the barrier, one detached itself from the mass and raced towards him. Vaako had only seconds to prepare for the attack before the spirit slammed through him with almost physical presence, tearing into his soul with icy fingers and dragging him along a short way before casting him aside. Vaako stared at his attacker, shocked as wraith-like hands gripped him tightly and the enraged features coalesced into a mask of cunning.

"So the betrayer has been promoted to full-dead."

Vaako faced Zhylaw, only now realizing how much stronger he had become since becoming Riddick's companion. In the past, he had been fearful of Zhylaw, lowering his eyes in submission when those all-seeing eyes turned in his direction. Obedience without question... until Riddick stepped into the Grand Helion Hall on Helion Prime and demanded a piece of Irgun, and Zhylaw faltered.

"I did not betray our people or our faith."

"No... but you betrayed me. You sided with the Furyan against me." Zhylaw's face pushed up close, and Vaako could feel an uncomfortable buzz where their souls almost touched. "What did he offer you?" Zhylaw snarled. "Position? Power?" Zhylaw's spirit receded, looking at Vaako thoughtfully. "No, you already had those... my First Among Commanders," he whispered softly.

"You were weak. Your fear of Riddick brought you to your knees. I merely seized the opportunity to bring the Sixth Regime to an end before your weakness destroyed us all."

Zhylaw gave a cold smile. "Yet he is Lord Marshal and not you, my Lord Vaako. Do not deny this for I have seen him on this side of the threshold and I watched him leave as one of the half-dead."

Zhylaw's head tilted slightly and his cruel eyes narrowed as cold fingers trailed along Vaako's cheek and jaw line, sending an uncomfortable buzz through Vaako.

"He ordered them to the light... and thousands obeyed before I could stop them." A vicious smile curled up the corners of his hard mouth as Zhylaw gave the blazing light a significant look, a knowing gleam filled his long-dead eyes. "He told you to go to the light..." Zhylaw's fingers tightened their hold upon Vaako as he whispered savagely, "...but while there is human life on the other side of the threshold, I will hold you to me... forever, if that's what it takes."

Vaako fought as Zhylaw swept them both away from the light but, to his growing horror, he could not escape the powerful grasp of the dead Lord Marshal. His soul cried out to Riddick as he was drawn deeper into the mass of Necromonger souls, but choked off as they pressed in around him.

****

Riddick was staring hard at the view screen ahead of him but Aereon did not need to be a mind reader to know his thoughts for they had been fixed from the moment Vaako took his last breath.

The armada had been traveling towards the threshold at maximum speed for almost two days and Riddick had not left the command center since the journey began, except to attend to his most basic bodily needs. He had not slept and he had not eaten since before the battle on Sargia, though Toal learned to his cost that this had not weakened the Lord Marshal.

Her thoughts traveled back several hours to the confrontation between the two men...

****

Aereon narrowed her eyes as she watched Commander Toal, quickly calculating the possibilities from his body language. Sycophants of the large Necromonger had been whispering to him for weeks, filling his empty mind with their fears for the Necromonger cause. Although Riddick had not made the sweeping changes she had anticipated -- and hoped for -- his orders regarding Sargia IV had made it clear that he would not be following the most basic law of Necroism, the annihilation of all human life in this universe. In addition, hundreds of Necromongers had fallen in that battle with no new converts taken to replace them. Those sycophants saw Riddick as a threat to their existence in both this universe and UnderVerse, stripping them of their ever-dwindling positions of power.

As Toal's eyes focused on Riddick, he took his first steps across the room and Aereon realized that the words of those sycophants had finally sunk into the commander's head. Or perhaps it was Riddick's decision to head straight to the threshold without punishing Sargia for the death of their First Among Commanders that had tipped the balance. Whichever, Toal had decided the grief-stricken Riddick was sufficiently feeble and, hence, ripe for assassination.

He walked across the room with strong, bold footsteps while his knife scraped out of its sheath with barely a whisper.

Aereon's hands flew to her throat in shock at the suddenness and ferocity of Riddick's counter-attack, having never seen the animal side of his nature unleashed so quickly and violently, revealing his half-dead status. His astral self whipped away from the descending dagger, teeth bared in a snarl of rage as he turned to grasp the commander's wrist with bone-snapping force that echoed around the suddenly silent room. For one terrible moment, she thought he would tear out the commander's throat with his teeth but, instead, Riddick's hand froze with the dagger biting into Toal's neck, ready to draw the razor-sharp blade across the vulnerable flesh.

"Your choice," he whispered harshly.

Though he was no coward, having no fear of death, Toal made his choice quickly. Riddick drew back the dagger as Toal sank to his knees with head bowed low, accepting Riddick's mastery over him. For the first time, Aereon recognized the true complexity of Richard B Riddick. He had full control over his nature, making every kill more chilling because each was committed in cold blood rather than in the heat of the moment. Momentarily, she wondered what reason Riddick could have for restraining the urge to kill Toal outright but then realized that he would be needed to fight on Riddick's side in the coming battle. Dead, he would be more than merely worthless to Riddick; he might even become a problem as his soul joined the Necromonger army waiting beyond the threshold.

****

Her thoughts came back to the present.

The silence within the room remained long after Toal stepped back to his post after having the bone knitted back together by the medical technicians. Aereon knew some time would pass before anyone else dared challenge Riddick now that he had revealed his half-dead abilities. Instead, she watched as he continued to stare through the view screen, his concealed eyes intent on the space lying ahead of them as the Basilica ship navigated passed the hidden markers that would lead to the portal. The armada followed behind, carrying millions of Necromonger warriors intent on battle.

"The threshold is still many hours away," she stated quietly even as she pondered on the good fortune that had the armada lying so close to the spatial anomaly. In the weeks that had passed since Riddick crossed the threshold on becoming Lord Marshal, the fleet could have moved a vast distance yet Riddick had kept them close, spiraling out from the threshold passed dead worlds -- worlds already conquered by former Lord Marshals -- until they came to Sargia IV.

Riddick made no response so she tried again, hoping to reason with him.

"The Guardians of the UnderVerse will not allow the armada to pass through the threshold unchallenged."

"Then we fight," he replied in an equally soft yet grave voice, still gazing intently away from her into the vastness of space.

"What will you do when you reach the other side of the portal? The dark army numbers in the billions, outnumbering your army by, perhaps, one hundred to one. The odds in favor of victory--"

Riddick held up a hand. "Don't tell me the odds."

Aereon sighed. Originally, when she had calculated the odds of this Furyan destroying the former Lord Marshal, she believed she had accounted for all the possibilities but never had she considered that he might take Zhylaw's place and become their Lord Marshal. Once he was in power, her calculations had all pointed towards a particular end result -- the gradual replacement of Necroism with a more forgiving religion. Until two days ago, her calculations had seemed to be perfect, and though she knew from experience how a single event could change everything, never had she considered the damaging effects of love. Even now, it seemed inconceivable that the fate of the universe, perhaps of UnderVerse too, walked the razor's edge because of the love this man held for another.

A Furyan and a Necromonger.

In hindsight, she recognized where she had miscalculated. When Riddick took Vaako as his First Among Commanders, his advisor and companion, she believed this to be a political maneuver. Vaako was the strongest warrior, the best strategist, and the most devout believer in Necroism. Having Vaako on his side would ensure loyalty from all but a few, making Riddick stronger and less vulnerable to attack from within. In contrast, Zhylaw had been a fool, aligning himself with sycophants and only recognizing where the true source of his power had come from when Vaako turned against him, precipitating his death at Riddick's hand. If Zhylaw had opened his 'all-seeing' eyes earlier, then he could have removed the manipulative Dame Vaako and ensured Vaako's complete loyalty to him long before Riddick stepped inside the Grand Helion Hall.

Vaako was the key, and Aereon had been impressed when Riddick realized this and acted upon it.

Yes... Two days ago, she fully believed Riddick's attraction to the handsome Necromonger was based on political power, and on self-preservation. However, the intensity of his reaction to Vaako's death had stunned her and, even now, she fought to explain how she could have missed the soul-deep love Riddick felt for Vaako. That love was driving him now, drawing him to the threshold and to a battle that should have been delayed for a thousand years simply by his rising to the position of Lord Marshal. Instead, the distant future had become the present.

Her eyes rested on the silent man, sensing the tension and fatigue within the still figure. The battle ahead would drain even the strongest of men, and Riddick needed to rest and take nourishment or he might falter long before the Necromonger armies met upon the battlefield.

His face turned towards her as if hearing her thoughts, and she knew he was wondering why she had not asked to leave the ship and return to her people. In truth, Aereon had no idea either but she felt as if her destiny, and the destiny of two universes, had become entwined with that of the man standing before her -- and in his soul mate, lost beyond the threshold.

"You should rest."

Even though she could not see his eyes behind the goggles, Aereon saw the tightening of his lips and knew he was annoyed at her audacity. She gave a secret smile, knowing how she could convince him to take rest.

"They say the dead come to the living through dreams..." Aereon waited for the cryptic words to sink in before adding, "And a few hours in this universe could mean so much to one trapped between two."

****

His pain was palpable as he registered her words, recalling the many months spent beyond the threshold when barely a day had passed in this universe. Vaako had been dead for almost two days, equating to half a Terran year in that grey void between universes, for Riddick knew Vaako had not reached the light. His last words to his lover had been borne out of a desperate hope that Vaako would cast aside his belief in Necroism and run for the light from the outset, perhaps reaching it before Zhylaw had even registered his presence beyond the threshold. However, a part of Riddick's soul was linked to Vaako's and so he knew the Necromonger within Vaako had fought against the journey, impeding his progress, delaying him for far too long.

The soul-deep connection had formed the first time they made love, when he projected his astral self through the fragile shell of flesh to touch the inner core of his companion, and each time since had only strengthened that bond. He knew Vaako would not have felt the connection so keenly, possibly because he had been fully alive and not so attuned to the astral plane, whereas Riddick was one of the half-dead.

Memories assaulted Riddick, of the warm flesh beneath his fingertips, and of the bright and vibrant soul that not even Necroism could dull. He had touched that soul, entwining it with his, and leaving a part of himself behind. Yet, now, he had only an increasing sense of foreboding within his soul that had reached a new level of fear just a few hours earlier, and only minutes before Toal made his move against him.

Riddick knew what that meant.

He felt physically sick at the thought of Zhylaw capturing his lover, dragging him away from the light, and swallowing him up within the darkness of his gathering army. Zhylaw would guard Vaako closely, and try to keep him chained to his side for all eternity, if necessary... but Riddick could not allow that to happen.

Perhaps this was his true destiny. Perhaps this was the fate mapped out for him from the moment of his birth, drawing him through the harsh years, and preparing him for a battle to save a single soul from eternal damnation. The fact that a whole universe would also be saved was meaningless to Riddick, though the Imam would have justified it as God moving in mysterious ways.

His thoughts turned to the Imam for one moment as he recalled a time when they had talked of God.

So often, Riddick had wished he could be godless, wished he did not believe that God existed, but he had seen too much to deny the presence of some higher being. To him, that presence was malevolent, causing him a lifetime of grief, misery, and pain. Except, there were moments recently, while lying beside Vaako with his body sated and his soul still soaring, that he felt some other-worldly warmth surrounding him, and at those times he could absolutely believe in Imam's God of goodness and of love.

"What the Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away," he murmured softly. 'Bastard,' he thought viciously, but the absolute hatred he had once felt for God had deserted him the first time he touched Vaako's soul.

He saw Aereon eying him uneasily and sighed deeply. Damn her, too, but she was right. He did need to rest before the battle but if her cryptic words were true then he would not rest easily, being haunted by the man he loved beyond life -- and beyond death. Yet, the possibility of seeing Vaako again, of touching him, of talking with him, perhaps holding him and making love to him, even if only within the confines of a dream, was too strong to resist.

He nodded his acquiescence and turned to Toal. "Keep us on course."

"Yes, my Lord Riddick."

Riddick did not look back as he left the command center, heading for his chamber. He knew he would have no more trouble from Toal, not now that he had proved his dominance over him, and his right to leadership.

****

The weeks passed too slowly for Vaako, for Zhylaw gave him no rest. Eventually, though, he began to recognize a pattern in their movement through the dead army. Vaako half-imagined that, from a distance, the Necromongers would look like a spiral galaxy, slowly spinning around a central point, but made of souls instead of stars. Over the course of time, Zhylaw had dragged him from one spiral arm deeper inside the mass, gravitating towards the center.

As he went, Zhylaw seemed to grow stronger, as if feeding off the souls of the dead surrounding him. He ordered them around, taking pleasure in the way they rushed to do his bidding as he raged against them. In contrast, Vaako felt weaker, and he wondered if Zhylaw was draining him like some astral vampire, or if the hopelessness of his situation was sapping the energy from his soul.

As always, his thoughts turned to Riddick, and to the words spoken with such conviction, 'run to the light'. He had not done so, still ensnared too deeply by the religion that had been his life. Only now, as Zhylaw forced him deeper inside the twisting mass of souls, did he understand the fate that awaited him here. For as long as there was a single human life on the other side of the threshold, Zhylaw would hold him here, preparing for the day when they would storm into UnderVerse and claim it as their rightful paradise.

Several times, he had tried to break free, hoping to hide within the multitude of lost souls until he could escape altogether but a simple command had all the souls around him fleeing, leaving him alone and vulnerable until Zhylaw claimed him once more. Then the mass of souls would close in again, twisting around him and his captor, and slowly pushing them towards the hidden center.

As they moved towards that center, Vaako became more agitated, sensing a deep malice that seemed to reach out and fuel the ancient souls surrounding him. Whatever lay at the center of the dead army held a malevolence that kept a billion souls or more locked into this grey hell. For the first time in his existence, Vaako felt true fear, and he clung to the slender thread that still connected him to the living -- the link to Riddick that he had discovered only upon dying.

More empty days turned to weeks but that tiny connection gave him hope, reverberating strong and true when all around him seemed to dim with the weight of so many souls, both ancient and new, crushing against him. Zhylaw was his only constant in this place as the Lord Marshal gathered his loyal followers, though other familiar lost souls brushed past Vaako from time to time. Some lingered, entranced by old memories of near comradeship while others stayed only to scorn and sneer at his captivity, recalling his transgressions.

Irgun was one of the former, staying close even after Zhylaw ordered him away for his display of loyalty to his former First Commander, Lord Vaako. Though Vaako had found love with Irgun's killer, the warrior held no grudge against either of them. Instead, he retained great respect for Vaako, and for the 'breeder' who had bested him with such ease, sending him to timely death.

While Zhylaw raged upon the souls surrounding him, Irgun brushed close again.

"Others are loyal to you still, my Lord Vaako, and yet more will be swayed by your presence. They wait only for your command," he whispered.

"But?"

"But they are few compared to the long centuries of warriors present, and they stay close to the edge." Irgun leaned in closer. "My Lord, you must stay away from the center, and try to get back to your command."

Irgun disappeared back into the liquid throng of souls before Zhylaw could turn his attention back to Vaako and notice his presence. Powerful, old warriors pressed close again, and Vaako could see no way of passing or fighting through them. They had overheard Irgun's words yet they said nothing, unconcerned by Zhylaw's struts of dominance, yet they would not allow Vaako passage through their ranks. It occurred to Vaako that these ancient warriors most likely held their allegiance to not one but to all of the Lord Marshals from the regimes of Necroism, or to whatever lay at the center. His presence was significant only for as long as Zhylaw made it clear that he was bound to him, and Irgun was nothing to them at all, not even worthy of mention.

Of those that tormented Vaako, the one who had once been his wife was the worst. Zhylaw's attention fell elsewhere once more, and the souls of his followers flowed away with him, leaving Vaako standing alone. As if sensing his thoughts upon her, she approached him slyly, running one astral hand along his cheek; he hated her touch.

"I can sense the 'breeder' within you, tainting your Necromonger soul." She spun around him; even more graceful in death than she had been in life, though her face no longer held any beauty to him. Her dark eyes sparkled with malice and her lips were twisted into a sneer of contempt. "Love is for the weak... and you are weak... and pathetic." Her lips brushed against his, sending ripples of disgust through his soul and he drew back in anger, striking out at her but missing as she spun away swiftly. She laughed at him, her voice lowering into a seductive purr. "Weak and foolish.... but still such a beautiful animal."

She drew closer again. "You think he will come for you." Her eyes danced with psychotic glee. "Oh... I am hoping he does so I can tear his soul to pieces and feed off him for all eternity."

She was not quick enough this time as Vaako lashed out, his anger tearing into her, ripping out a tiny shred of her soul which strengthened him momentarily. Vaako fell back in shock, finally understanding the nature of the beings surrounding him as they fed upon each others' weaknesses with self-directed rage and fury.

"Perhaps not so weak after all, my Lord Vaako," she whispered malevolently, drifting back into the throng of souls edging this tiny clearing, though Vaako knew he had not seen the last of her.

The familiar, unwanted touch of Zhylaw's hands upon him sent sensations of disgust creeping through him. He pushed away, only to be caught in talons that sank into his essence, holding him fast... and found his senses speeding away, crossing time and space instantly until he was standing in their shared chamber, looking down at the beautiful man sprawled upon their bed.

Vaako gasped in wonder, afraid to look away even for a second lest this moment be lost to him forever. He sank down on the bed beside Riddick and reached out, crying out in sorrow as his fingers past through flesh, unable to touch this living man. As if hearing his cry, Riddick shifted on the bed, his astral eyes opening to reveal the cold polished surface that allowed him to see in the darkness. Vaako stared deep into those eyes, wishing they could see him... and then a smile grew on Riddick's face, those eyes shining with emotion as Riddick's astral face pressed outwards, soft lips alighting upon Vaako's with a butterfly kiss that sent ripples through his cold soul. He saw ghost arms stretch out and he reached out in turn, almost sobbing as he felt the gentle touch. Arms wrapped around him, drawing him down until they were pressed together, soul to soul, sharing all their grief and giving comfort as they slowly rocked together.

"I will find you," Riddick stated firmly, leaning in to press ghost kisses over Vaako's forehead, eyes and then his mouth, worshipping his presence. "I will find you."

Vaako pulled back from another deep kiss, shivering in memory of the coldness of that grey place and he sighed as Riddick held him closer still, merging with him, and feeling the warmth seep back into his chilled soul.

"Don't let me wake up," Riddick whispered hoarsely. "A few hours here..."

"...is an eternity there."

"I will find you," he stated again, and Vaako relaxed against the solid, vibrant soul of his lover, feeling the continuing life-force within it that gave him warmth and strength without the need for rage. He knew Riddick would keep his promise, and that gave him renewed hope.

Hours past but, all too soon, Vaako felt the first stirrings of waking in his lover. The strong bond of their souls began to weaken while the pull of other souls strengthened, slowly dragging back to the grey limbo. Vaako held on for as long as he could, taking the freely offered strength from Riddick but he could not overcome the others, and neither could Riddick sleep forever, anchoring him to this universe.

Vaako's vision of Riddick dimmed, only to be replaced by a face contorted with rage as Zhylaw pushed against him with all his fury.

"I should have made you mine from the beginning," he snarled.

Vaako let his own rage loose for a moment, shoving Zhylaw back, only to be overwhelmed by the rush of souls coming to Zhylaw's defense. Battered and defenseless, he clung to the small thread still linking him to the known universe and to the hope Riddick had instilled within him.

****

He was back at the command center once more, staring intently through the view screen as the great ship navigated through the treacherous vortices. The rest of the fleet slipped in behind the Basilica ship, with smaller craft buzzing between them like wasps around a nest. Oltovm, the second Lord Marshal, had built a vast station to house the Guardians of the UnderVerse, leaving his greatest, most trusted warriors behind to man it. Its automated defenses could decimate even this fleet of Necromonger ships, and its army was large enough to finish off what remained. Over the millennia though, the Guardians had never needed to prepare for such an attack. Mostly, their prey consisted of single ships -- prospectors, or homesteaders who drifted too close and paid the ultimate price by being granted access to the threshold as one of the full dead.

Riddick's thoughts drifted away from the view and back to the past few hours.

During the few hours while the Vaako's soul took comfort with him, they had talked of the obstacles lying ahead. If he closed his eyes, Riddick knew he would be able to hear the strong yet gentle voice of his lover as the words flowed over him in remembrance...

****

"Only the Lord Marshal or his intended heir may look into the threshold, or step beyond the portal. All others must turn their backs."

"Why?"

"Because no ordinary man... Necromonger or breeder... may look into the threshold before their due time."

"And you never asked why?" Riddick queried, and Vaako's eyes lowered in shame. Riddick continued softly. "In Slam, they had a saying, 'blessed are the godless for they won't be blinded by faith'."

Vaako looked back at him, a quirk of annoyance touching his ghostly pale lips. "Is it so wrong to believe in something greater than yourself?"

"No." Riddick smiled softly. "I believe in you." His smile deepened at Vaako's embarrassment, knowing he had thrown the man completely.

A moment or two passed before Vaako slowly raised his head again. "There is something there... in the center of the dead army. Something..." Vaako paused for a moment, as if trying to find the right words to describe this unknown entity. "It is old. More ancient than its span of years in this universe, and filled with rage." Vaako stared deep into Riddick's eyes, his hands reaching out to caress his astral features, and to brush across his lips. He changed the subject abruptly. "Do you recall the warrior you fought on Helium Prime?"

"I still have the souvenir." Riddick smiled grimly, his head motioning towards the wall where Irgun's knife was displayed. The knife had been embedded deep into the flesh of Vaako's second-in-command but, according to Vaako, Irgun had refused to have it removed, leaving it in place to show his mastery over pain. Riddick had snatched it from the man's back and stabbed it repeatedly into more vulnerable flesh, killing Irgun within seconds.

"He was a good warrior, and a loyal commander." Vaako's lips quirked into the smallest of smiles, and Riddick realized how somber his First Among Commanders had been in life, rarely smiling unless they were alone. "He is still loyal to me and he is gathering my followers from the army of the dead, for me to command."

"Does he know about us?" Riddick asked, wryly, wondering how loyal Irgun would be if he discovered his former commander now shared a bed with his killer.

"Yes. He knows."

"And you trust him?"

"Yes." Vaako stroked a finger along Riddick's jaw line. He frowned as if a new thought had crossed his mind. "The majority of the dead army has been trapped within the threshold for millennia. While Zhylaw is among them, they move to his command... but when he moves on, they drift back into the patterns of their past... back to the waiting."

"Hmmm...Interesting. So if we cut off the head--"

"It is not that simple. Zhylaw was the sixth Lord Marshal and it is likely that those who came before him also have the ability to command the whole army."

"I read a history of the Necros. The first regime was commanded by a man named Covu."

"The founder of Necroism."

"He was insane."

"With grief... until he discovered the threshold and saw his dead wife and children come back to life."

Riddick barked a short laugh.

"When he came back, he started the systematic slaughter of all human life in this universe so I'd say he was still insane." Riddick paused in thought. "Could he be the rage at the center?"

"I don't know. It's possible."

"Stay away from there. Gather your forces and wait for me near the edge. I will find you."

Vaako sighed and pressed closer to Riddick, his eyes shutting as he was overtaken once more by the misery of the long months caught beyond the threshold while so little time had passed here. Riddick felt every moment of those longs months through his connection to Vaako, and gripped his lover more tightly.

"I have had little choice but to go where he leads me... but I will try."

"Normally I'd say I should have killed him when I had the chance..." Riddick gave a wry grin and reached out to softly kiss his lover once more, wishing they could touch in the flesh. "Now I wish I'd kept the bastard alive."

"Neither of us could have anticipated this."

****

Riddick felt Aereon move up behind him, feeling the displacement of air that breathed across his sensitive flesh.

"We reach the threshold within the hour," Riddick stated in a low voice, keenly aware that an hour for him would seem far longer to his lover. Every hour wasted on this side of the portal was another week for Vaako, held in the clutches of Zhylaw the Great, and every hour saw his lover dragged ever closer to the madness lying at the center of the Necromonger dead, reducing their chances of being reunited after the coming battle.

As always, his ability to register her presence made her falter. They both knew this could not be attributed to his astral senses for he had sensed her presence from their first meeting, long before he crossed the threshold and became one of the half-dead. She paused by his side, becoming visible to the naked eye once more and Riddick had to admire her quick recovery as she drew closer still.

"I have been calculating the odds of passing through the portal."

"So have I," murmured Riddick. "They won't stop me."

"No... but they will stop the rest of the armada."

Riddick turned his silvered eyes upon her, narrowing them against the brightness of the, otherwise, dimly-lit room. "I don't think so. I think they're sick of waiting. Sick of being imprisoned on that gate world. Dying as old men in their beds, without their vaunted Necro honor of falling in battle. I'll offer them a battle that'll end the centuries of waiting."

"They could choose to fight against you."

"Maybe... but I'll bet on them wanting to know what's beyond the threshold, wanting to see what they've been guarding all this time. I'll be the excuse they need to take a look."

"Every Lord Marshal since Covu has made the same promise to be the one to lead the Necromonger army across the threshold and into UnderVerse." Aereon paused, her pale eyes narrowing as a trace of a smile flickered across her seamed lips. "But I believe you will be the one."

Riddick turned away abruptly and barked out an order to Toal. "Prepare the army. We march into UnderVerse this day."

****

Sapped of strength, and with his soul bruised and battered, Vaako clung tight to the inner core of his being that was his lifeline to Riddick. Its mere presence gave him hope that they would be reunited, even in death; for Vaako was certain Zhylaw would not be able to hold onto him once he had the fury that was Riddick by his side. All he had to do was try to retain his sense of being, his sense of who he was, until Riddick could reach him but this grew harder with each step. He was losing himself, caught in the maelstrom of rage that was all around him and filling the souls of the ancient dead surrounding him. They twisted in agonized circles, with hatred contorting their features. Their rage amplified the waves battering at Vaako from all sides, whipping through him like superheated solar wind, but he tried to stand firm against it. In contrast, the rage intensified within Zhylaw, stripping away the last vestiges of humanity from within his blackened soul, leaving nothing of the man Vaako had once known. All reasoning had vanished from Zhylaw, leaving only a core of hatred ready to strike out against an unknown enemy.

Vaako knew that the spark of life within him, that slender gossamer thread stretching so finely between this limbo and the universe beyond, was what held the rage at bay from him. Love and hate, two sides of the same coin, opposing emotions, and he knew that what he felt within the dead army was hatred beyond all measure battering against Riddick's unconditional love for him, a love he never expected to receive or return.

Once more, Zhylaw reached for him with strong astral arms, crushing against him with his rage and hate-filled soul and Vaako felt him trying to push deeper, to lay full claim to him. He knew the thread of life within him tormented Zhylaw, and all those around him. They coveted it, wanted to possess it, perhaps seeing it as a reminder of the life that had once filled them. Vaako pulled away from Zhylaw, hearing Zhylaw's snarl of anger at being cast out again, though Vaako knew he would not be able to stop Zhylaw forever. Eventually, Vaako knew his strength would give out, and Zhylaw would kill the small life still feeding him... and keep what he killed.

Unable to fight against the hands that grabbed at him, Vaako was dragged the final few steps towards the dark center. Shock filled him as he gazed upon the malevolence that had kept a billion Necromonger souls imprisoned in this hell, and that had caused the untimely deaths of billions more humans.

"Chiestra," he whispered, recognizing the terrifying beauty standing before him. Covu's long dead wife spun around to face him, with lips drawn back in a snarl and her eyes filled with the utmost hatred and contempt for all around her.

****

"Lord Marshal. You're return here so soon is unexpected."

"Commander Dravo. It's time."

Dravo frowned. Six Lord Marshals had returned from through the threshold with promises of being the one to lead the army into UnderVerse, but Dravo had not expected this long-desired event to take place during his lifetime. There were still too many worlds in this universe populated with the spontaneous mistake of human life, too many souls that needed to cross the threshold before his people could lay claim to UnderVerse. To cross ahead of time was inconceivable.

"This universe has yet been cleansed of all human life."

"It's not this universe I'm worried about."

"UnderVerse..?"

"Will be lost to us if we do not take it now."

Dravo frowned, having not seen anything that would indicate a problem. "Our soldiers have been crossing the threshold for centuries, joining the ghost army and preparing to enter UnderVerse when--"

"Let's just say they got a little distracted on the other side. Something's holding them back... and we're gonna go deal with it."

Dravo's eyes narrowed in disbelief. "If this were true then former lord marshals would have--"

Riddick laughed aloud, the sound rough and filled with condescension for those who had gone before him, and Dravo felt nervous, knowing that laugh held no pleasure. Riddick pulled away the goggles concealing his strangely shining eyes and stared deep into Dravo's, and Dravo could not help but shrivel under that cold gaze.

"They were weak, and overcome by lies. Why do you think no one is allowed to look beyond the threshold?"

Dravo had no answer. Over the centuries, some of his people had raised similar suspicions but any possible insurrection was swiftly dealt with. No one had questioned their duty in decades but then, no one had crossed the threshold in almost thirty years until Lord Riddick. Perhaps circumstances had changed over these past thirty years, bringing a new threat to their campaign.

"The door to UnderVerse is already open, and the only ones left out in the cold are our people. Gotta rectify that situation."

Dravo was confused now. According to Covu, the gateway to UnderVerse would only open once all human life in this universe had been eliminated. However, if what Lord Riddick said was true, then Covu had been mistaken, and their people had suffered an eternity in darkness, waiting for nothing. He swallowed hard, no longer sure what to believe.

"See for yourself," rasped Riddick, and Dravo swallowed hard in surprise for it was an honor only granted to the Lord Marshal or his successor. By offering him the chance to see into UnderVerse, Riddick was giving him the right to succession. He could not resist, and nodded swiftly, turning on his heel and striding back through the long corridors to the portal. Riddick followed at a more leisurely pace, and yet the man seemed to arrive right behind him. Dravo glanced sideways, aware that Lord Riddick was not all he seemed as ghostly hands projected from him as he waved Dravo towards the portal controls.

All the Necromongers within the room turned their backs as Dravo sent the code that would open the portal. He glanced sideways again as Lord Riddick came to stand at his shoulder, before staring forward, looking deep into the limbo between universes at a sight he never dreamed to see while he still lived.

Beautiful colors swirled just beyond the portal, like the fiery dust plumes from a million different galaxies and nebulae. The colors hurt his eyes and he winced, his eyes watering until they adjusted to the flares of light and color. After a time, the light muted, leaving him looking into a gray limbo where only occasional flashes of light caught his attention. He backtracked and saw that these small, almost insignificant flares were rushing through the portal from this universe and he felt a moment of awe. These were the souls of the dead.

"Where do they go? For those who met untimely death will not see UnderVerse."

"They see UnderVerse. They race to the light while our people cower in the darkness."

Dravo felt his soul leaping from his physical body, thrown into the maelstrom of forces surrounding the portal and hurled deep inside with Riddick by his side. In comparison to the dead, their souls shone brightly, quickly attracting the lost souls that wandered in the darkness beyond. Riddick pulled him along at breakneck speed, heading straight for the gateway of which he had spoken, only to turn and race back towards the portal before Dravo could touch it.

When his senses returned to the universe, Dravo took a shocked inward breath, for several hours had passed in what seemed like minutes. He had not seen the ghost army but he had seen enough to know Riddick spoke the truth. The souls of the dead were racing through the gateway while the souls of Necromongers faltered. UnderVerse was open to all except his people.

"Well?" Riddick asked, and Dravo nodded.

"It's time," Dravo replied.

****

Aereon paused beside the portal and watched as Riddick called his commanders together. He held the eyes of each one in turn, letting them know who was in charge and not moving on until each had acknowledged his leadership. Aereon knew it was the animal within him that commanded this, the alpha male demanding obedience without question.

Her lips twitched into a secret smile as each commander accepted Riddick's position as Lord of the Necromongers... or leader of the pack. It made little difference except Riddick had always been a solitary animal before -- a lone wolf. The man she first met in the Imam's house had changed since becoming Lord Marshal, though Aereon felt this change might have started a little before that particular day, perhaps on the first day his path crossed Vaako's in the Grand Helion Hall. She had seen the way the two interacted but, at the time, assumed nothing could come of it, but the intrigue had been there on both sides, and a grudging respect on Vaako's part as Riddick took out his best warrior with ease.

In hindsight, perhaps that was the very moment when her calculations went awry for if she had figured in Vaako from that instant then, maybe, she could have foreseen the rest. Dravo spoke, drawing her thoughts away from her mistakes.

"We are ready, but how can we fight an army of the dead?"

"We don't," Riddick responded dryly. "Obedience without question. Isn't that the Necromonger way?" Riddick paused as all the commanders straightened at his words, for conversion had instilled these words into them. "I am the Lord Marshal of the Necromongers. The dead know this. Most will want to obey me."

"And the rest?"

Riddick gave that chilling half smile that could send fear into the hearts of the weak. "One order for the living... stay out of the light. One order for the dead... go into the light. Obedience, at all cost."

Dravo, Toal, Scalp Taker and Scales needed no further comment, for Riddick's orders were implicit. They might not be able to 'kill' the dead, but they could hold back those who sought to stop the ones who wanted to obey Riddick -- those who wanted to go into the light. They could give them the release their souls craved by granting them a safer passage. In addition, if Riddick was correct, the vast majority of the ghost army would obey him purely because he was their Lord Marshal.

What concerned Aereon most were the ones who would not obey. As the ghost army dissipated, the hold the six dead Lord Marshals had on the remainder would tighten. The odds would still be against Riddick's success. If Riddick had a plan for this part of the campaign, then he kept it to himself. Instead, he gave a slight nod towards Dravo, and Aereon watched as the Guardian of the UnderVerse opened the portal.

She gasped softly at the amazing patterns of light and color that blazed through the opening, playing across the faces of those present, knowing her own features mirrored their rapture. Slowly the brilliant colors muted; the swirling rainbow of color thinning until only a dark grayness remained.

Riddick crossed first, followed swiftly by his commanders and the elite of his forces. Aereon stepped across the threshold beside him, looking back to see the first of a million Necromonger soldiers cross behind them, ready to obey those two simple orders. Before her eyes, the army of the living became half-dead and she felt the same change within her. She felt her soul wrench free from some of the shackles of her physical form while her sense of calculating balance faltered as minutes stretched to hours.

Ahead were the dark constellations of the so-called promised land but, even from here she could see the lies and half-truths. If this was their promised land then billions of Necromongers and ordinary humans had died for nothing for this would never be a paradise. Her eyes drifted towards the center, and to the pinpoint of brilliant white light lying there. If Riddick was correct then this place, UnderVerse, was merely a corridor between two universes. As she watched, ghostly figures sped passed, heading straight for the light, disappearing from her view in seconds. It both amazed and terrified for these had to be the souls of the recently deceased, non-Necromongers heading towards paradise.

Compared to the wraith-like figures of the dead, the half-dead souls of Riddick's army shone brightly, forming a galaxy of light behind her, becoming ever brighter as more soldiers crossed the threshold. She narrowed her eyes as a milky way slowly formed ahead of them, stretching across the dark gray void and blotting out the single bright star. The band grew more substantial with each passing moment, growing denser as the ghost army amassed perhaps a thousand deep.

Six forms separated from the billions, sweeping across the limbo towards them, and stopped some distance away, waiting for Riddick and his commanders to meet them part way. Riddick obliged and Aereon followed close behind, knowing Riddick would not prevent her. She wanted to see and hear what passed between the leaders of these two great forces, knowing the new facts could be added into her calculations.

As she approached, their misty faces became clearer and Aereon recognized five from their likenesses upon the Basilica ship and the conquest icons. The sixth figure she knew more intimately as Zhylaw the Great, though this soul no longer held any humanity. In truth, Zhylaw had never been a compassionate man, caring little for anything but the campaign. Even his 'wives' were casually taken and then discarded as their usefulness or his interest in them waned. Like all Necromongers, he took pleasure in the taking of human life. However, unlike a warrior such as Vaako, Zhylaw's pleasure did not come from religious fervor alone, seeing the act as one of compassion towards the victim, but from a deep desire to maim and kill and destroy. This man was a monster and the rumor of Furyan babies strangled with their own birth cords had its basis in fact for she had witnessed this with her own eyes. Her prophecy had told him of his downfall at the hands of a male Furyan. She had paid the price of her arrogance with those terrible memories of his hands tearing the newborns from their mothers' wombs and choking them as they drew in their first feeble breaths.

Lord Marshal Baylock, known as Baylock the Brutal, stepped forward. "It is not yet time. Go back and fulfill our destiny."

Even in physical form, Riddick moved with a cat-like grace borne out of supreme confidence, though many took it for arrogance but now he moved with inhuman grace. He stepped closer.

"You see... that's where the problem lies. That's your destiny, not mine... or theirs." Riddick's eyes swept the legion of the dead. "You made them promises, and I plan to keep them."

"If you seek a fight then you are vastly outnumbered."

"But stronger."

"That we shall see," stated Zhylaw menacingly, as he drew up beside Baylock. His once handsome face was twisted with hatred for the living Lord Marshal, knowing Riddick had been the Furyan male who had seen to his downfall.

Riddick's answer was simple. He raised his voice, seeming to know that it would carry to the dead souls beyond.

"Convert or fall forever, isn't that what they told you? So you converted... yet here you all are in the middle of nothing while the godless go straight to paradise. The door to UnderVerse is open. All you have to do is go into the light."

"Lies!" Covu's spirit charged at Riddick, knocking him backwards but he could not take back the words already spoken. Bound to the souls he commanded, Covu turned as first a trickle and then hundreds, thousands, and millions of souls of the dead began to race away towards the light. "Stop them!"

Thousands more souls raced to ensnare those who would obey Riddick, and Riddick yelled his own battle cry in response, sending his half-dead army surging forward.

****

From where he was being held back within the dead army, Vaako could not see his lover but he heard the strong voice carry across, echoing in this silent place. He tried to twist out the grasp of the souls pressed closest to him, hating the way they pushed against against him as if trying to draw out that small flicker of life still left within him. However, his strength was totally depleted after the meeting with Chiestra. Her scarred soul was filled with a grief beyond measure, and a hatred for those who had destroyed her life and murdered her children. Eons spent in this gray limbo had only fueled her rage and, in her madness, she refused to leave this place. She believed her beautiful children would be restored to her once she had fulfilled the Necromonger destiny, and seen all humanity pay for the torture and murder of her loved ones.

Vaako recalled trying to reason her, instinctively knowing that her children had found peace through the light while she remained shackled between universes by her rage and grief. He could not reach her through her madness, and suffered the blows of her hatred as she cursed the small amount of life still held within him through his bond with Riddick.

By the time he managed to escape her, dragged away by Zhylaw as he moved to mobilize the ghost army, Vaako felt too weak to fight anyone. Any hope of escaping Zhylaw's clutches and reaching his followers at the edge of the army disappeared, and all he could do was follow Zhylaw and pray to the gods of Necroism that Riddick would find him.

Riddick's words stirred the souls pressed close to him but, as most were the ancient dead who had spent millennia in this place, they turned to the ones who had commanded them in life. Covu screamed his accusation of lies and the ghost army turned and surged towards the countless millions who fled towards the light. Vaako was swept along with them, crushed between them as they raced to encircle the deserters, blocking off their escape route. Brighter spirits split through the ghost army like rays of sunlight cutting through a misty morning, forming tunnels through which the millions could flee. A roar close by drowned out the screams of the ancient dead and Vaako grinned as Irgun spearheaded an assault through the deep ranks towards him, closely followed by those still loyal to Vaako.

With renewed hope, Vaako kicked out at those closest to him, forcing a path through them as he fought to reach Irgun. He could see the big warrior ahead of him, their eyes meeting momentarily before a band of steel wrapped around Vaako's arm, dragging him back.

"Irgun!"

Wave after wave of ancient dead surged forward, pushing Irgun and his followers back and Vaako swung round, fist connecting with the twisted features of his captor. Zhylaw's head snapped sideways but he recovered instantly, backhanding Vaako with a strength that sent Vaako hurling backwards into the wall of ancient souls. Before he could even regather his thoughts, Zhylaw had him in a vice-like grip again, with a hand wrapped around his throat. Vaako's fists beat upon Zhylaw weakly as Zhylaw drained what little remained of his strength; his vision narrowing to the battle between him and his former Lord Marshal, a battle he was losing. He could feel the last of his strength slipping away, consumed by the increasingly more powerful Zhylaw. With shock, he realized that even souls could wither and die if all the energy was sucked out of them. All that remained to him now was the flicker of life that belonged to Riddick, and even that began to dim.

"Suggest you let him go."

Vaako felt the draining stop abruptly and, with eyes that could barely focus, he sought the owner of that familiar deep voice. Before them, Riddick glowed like an ethereal being, shining out among the dulled spirits of the ancient dead who kept a safe distance from him. The cold intent in his dark eyes belied the soft drawl of his words but Zhylaw simply chuckled menacingly.

"I know why you are here... and it is not for altruistic notions." Zhylaw dragged Vaako forward, his hand still clasped around Vaako's throat, and his voice dropped lower. "This is what you came for. This is what you want."

"This has a name," croaked Vaako, almost regretting his retort as Zhylaw's grip tightened but he refused to remain passive any longer. His lover was here and between them they would defeat Zhylaw, just as they had in the Necropolis all those long months ago. Except, this time, they would be fighting on the same side.

Riddick stalked closer, with lips shriveling back from his teeth in a snarl, uncaring of the battle that raged around them. All that was important to him lay within this circle of long dead Necromonger warriors. A sense of deja-vu overcame him as he recalled the fight within the Necropolis, and how he had faced off with Zhylaw. Once more, the Necromongers remained still around him, obeying some silent command from Zhylaw of non-interference. Once more, Zhylaw had taken someone he cared about, someone he loved, though Riddick knew that more was at stake here than just life. This time he would be fighting for his lover's soul but, whatever the outcome, Riddick knew he would lose what he wanted most. If Zhylaw won then Vaako's soul would be consumed by him, becoming a part of the sixth Lord Marshal forever, and if Zhylaw lost then Riddick would send Vaako's soul into the light, to be free. Either way, he would lose this most precious man.

****

Riddick snarled as Zhylaw shoved Vaako's weakened form aside and began to move closer. Back on Necropolis, he had witnessed the arrogance in Zhylaw's eyes, borne from supreme confidence in his half-dead abilities despite the Furyan prophecy overshadowing him. As blow after blow sent Riddick flying across the Necropolis to slam into floor and wall, bloodied and beaten, that arrogance had grown. It had been Zhylaw's downfall. He turned his back on a slip of a girl, a recent convert, so confident in the torture of Necroism that he never considered she might turn away from that path so soon after her conversion.

That had been his first mistake.

His second had been in believing he had Vaako's fidelity, in believing Vaako had jumped into the fight to protect him, realizing only too late that Vaako's loyalty was to the faith and not to him. Riddick had seen all the moves play out like a game of chess and he knew, instinctively, which move Zhylaw would make next. As the battle ax arced down towards Zhylaw, Riddick moved to the abandoned weapon, his foot pressing down upon it as Zhylaw's astral hands grabbed at it. It took only seconds for Zhylaw's physical body to follow his astral form but Riddick had already seen shock replace arrogance on the Lord Marshal's astral face.

Checkmate.

This time, Riddick was one of the half-dead but that gave him little advantage within this limbo as he faced an enemy intent on promoting him to full-dead.

As he fought his way towards this confrontation, he had seen hundreds of his army overcome by the rage within the ghost army. He saw the bright life within them flicker and die as they were crushed by the hatred surrounding them. The shock of transition to full-dead caught many off guard, leaving them vulnerable, and quickly they were ensnared within the ghost army. Even so, many followed his second order upon full-death and raced with the fleeing souls into the light.

Beyond this ring of the long dead, the battle was still raging but, as he glanced around him, Riddick gave a self-deprecating smile. The outcome of this battle had never been in question. He had known from the beginning that his army alone could not win against such overwhelming numbers and against such rage.

The answer to this problem had come in the form of dreams, upon seeing a desolate world where grave markers stretched from one horizon to the other. Within him, he had the rage of an entire world slaughtered by the Necromongers. He had the rage of a billion mothers who had witnessed the murder of their beloved children, male and female alike. The billions of Furyans had passed into the light but they had left their fury behind, and he felt it within him now, slowly building as darkness consumed row upon row of the dead army, moving towards him as he faced Zhylaw across the silent ring of ghosts.

She was coming. The one Vaako had talked of during those few precious hours together. Riddick had felt her presence within the souls of the dead surrounding him, had felt her darkness and hatred within Zhylaw, using him as an extension of her being, a pawn in her game play. That same darkness had tried to consume his lover too, for Riddick sensed the debilitating weakness of that encounter along the link they shared. The thought sent a wave of pride through Riddick for Vaako had stood against her wrath, retaining his soul and his humanity when so many others, including Zhylaw, had fallen beneath the onslaught. It laid testament to the true strength of the man, of both mind and soul, and of his resolve to fight to the very end.

Momentarily forgotten by Zhylaw -- but never by Riddick -- Vaako eased around the inner circumference until he stood on Riddick's right, held back by ghostly figures that would allow him to shuffle along before them but not to step beyond their grasp. Riddick closed his eyes for a moment, letting his feelings rush along the link and ready Vaako for the fight ahead.

He allowed the Furyan rage to continue expanding within him, controlling it rather than allowing it to control him as it had on Crematoria. Still, the memory of that moment sent a chill of fear into him as he recalled the way the powerful wave had tossed aside the approaching Necromonger soldiers like leaves in the wind. How could he protect Vaako from its effects? The wave would pulse out in all directions, leaving nowhere safe for his lover but Riddick had no choice. The darkness of Chiestra was all around him now, and even the small flare of Vaako's soul was dimming under its blanket of hatred.

The rest of the battle became background noise, quickly filtered out as Riddick concentrated on this foe, letting his fear for Vaako add to the fury filling him. Inky fingers clawed out from the edges of the circle, swallowing up Zhylaw before settling over Riddick like a dank blanket, suffocating in its madness. He turned to the right, with his half-dead, astral eyes seeking out the fast-extinguishing light of Vaako's soul, watching it flutter weakly, on the verge of being snuffed out forever.

"NO!" He yelled, refusing to allow that flicker of life to die, and the fury exploded out of him in a brilliant white wave, flattening everything in its path. The darkness receded; destroyed by the light as the fury of a billion Furyans overwhelmed the rage of Chiestra.

Silence fell, and when Riddick opened his eyes, the darkness was gone, banished forever. In its place stood the freed souls of the Necromonger dead, intermingled with the brighter souls of those still among the half-dead of Riddick's army. Slowly, the dead turned and drifted away, heading towards the brilliant light at the center of UnderVerse, no longer chained by Chiestra's madness and grief. He saw Chiestra, saw her beautiful face tilt towards the light as if hearing distant voices calling to her, her blank face filling with rapture as recognition came.

She whispered the names of her dead children, joy filling her eyes as she turned to the light.

Riddick watched her go with the rest. He saw one spirit falter and turn back but Zhylaw's eyes no longer held madness. Instead, he looked confused. Eventually, he turned and raced away with the others leaving only a few of the dead remaining.

Riddick's heart broke as he saw Vaako waiting. Behind his lover stood a great army, and at his left shoulder stood Irgun, the warrior who had killed the Imam and earned his death at Riddick's hand. Vaako turned to his second in command.

"Go," he stated with a soft smile. Irgun nodded and turned away, his small army following leaving Vaako standing alone while the surviving army of the half-dead formed behind Riddick. Riddick turned and found only Commander Scales and Dravo still among his army; Toal and Scalp Taker were gone.

"Go," he ordered. "Wait for me beyond the threshold."

They nodded and Riddick spent a moment watching as his army began the journey back to their universe. Then he turned back and watched as, slowly, Vaako approached. His dulled spirit grew brighter; his strength quickly returning now the darkness had gone from UnderVerse. Vaako stopped before Riddick, reaching out to brush fingertips over Riddick's lips.

"I could wait for you."

Riddick captured the hand and pressed a kiss against the fingers. "You have to go."

His voice almost broke on the words but he could not condemn Vaako to spend any time alone in this gray limbo, where hours stretched to weeks and years stretched to centuries. Part of Riddick wished Zhylaw had promoted him to full-dead so he could go with Vaako. Now, only one man could grant him this death wish but Vaako's next words took even that small hope away.

"And you have to go back and teach our people how to live again."

Aereon stepped up to Riddick's side, uncaring that she was intruding upon their final moment together.

"The balance in our universe is not yet restored. My calculations reveal that this can come about only through a strong command structure within the Necromongers." Her voice softened. "The Lord Marshal needs a strong advisor, companion, and First Among Commanders." She smiled serenely. "After all, this is but one of many thresholds within our universe, leading to but one of many universes."

"Don't tell me they all have a ghost army waiting in between universes."

"No... I won't tell you that."

Riddick's lips twisted at her obtuse words but he kept his silence as a small glimmer of hope began to warm a part of his chilled soul. She already knew he would accept no one but Vaako by his side. She spoke again.

"Only the dead may go into the light... and Lord Vaako is not full-dead."

Riddick stared hard at the beautiful man standing before him, realizing that his aura glowed brighter and stronger with each passing moment. Desire flared within Riddick, and an answering flare brightened Vaako's soul still further.

"There's more than one way to become half-dead," Aereon murmured softly before turning away to follow the others back towards the threshold, and Riddick laughed aloud as the realization struck him.

His half-dead soul had formed a bond with Vaako while his lover was still among the living, and not even Vaako's physical death had broken that bond. Because of this, Vaako had entered UnderVerse as one of the half-dead and, just as Riddick could cross the threshold back into their universe in that state, so could Vaako.

"Damn Elementals," he murmured softly, wondering how long Aereon had known this to be the case. He cast thoughts of her aside and reached for Vaako, drawing him close and taking his lips in what he knew would be the first of many kisses. Then, with arms wrapped tight around each others strong forms for fear of being separated again, they began the journey back to life -- together.

****

Epilogue:

Slick fingers pressed against the hidden entrance to his body and Vaako arched to ease their passage. He moaned as the fingers sank deep into him, stroking in and out, bumping against that sensitive place inside and drawing shudders of pleasure from him. He pulled his knees back further, opening to Riddick, willingly offering himself to the man who had already claimed his heart and soul. He rocked against those fingers for a time but the need for a deeper possession filled him.

Soft lips pressed against his sweating flesh, a tongue flicking out to tease at a nipple, sending fresh impulses racing through his body like miniature shock waves. Vaako gasped, on the point of begging for that complete possession of his body and almost sobbed his relief when Riddick's fingers eased out. Vaako held his breath as Riddick settled between his open thighs, the corded muscle rippling on his biceps as he supported his weight with one hand while the other hand positioned his hard shaft at the loosened entrance.

A moment's pain screamed through Vaako, quickly dulling as pleasure overrode it. The slow glide of Riddick inside him sent a fresh wave of passion throbbing through him and he released his knees, allowing his legs to wrap around Riddick's hard torso. Riddick's glittering eyes were scant inches above his, and filled with a tenderness that Vaako doubted many had seen. They shone with a light that went far beyond a surgically shine, revealing the innermost feelings of a man who tended to hide his emotions beneath a mask of indifference.

Riddick's hips rocked forward; pressing his hard flesh deeper into Vaako's receptive body, and Vaako hissed his acceptance, thrusting back in counterpoint, wanting to deepen his possession, wanting to be owned by this man. He felt sharp teeth nip at his throat, felt the strong suction as Riddick branded him with a lover's mark while his own hands raked over Riddick's strong back.

Trapped between their close-pressed bodies, his erection hardened further, finding perfect friction as precome slicked between them. All too swiftly, the sensations built between them, his innards melting as his senses overloaded. The heat of his ejaculation splattered between them even as he felt Riddick's release within him. Small kisses punctuated his face, alighting on lips and cheeks, temple and forehead. Fingers curled through the growing lengths of his sweat-soaked hair while Riddick rode the aftermath with gentle thrusts before slowly pulling out of Vaako's body, leaving him feeling strangely empty.

Riddick moaned softly as he rolled onto his back. He flung one hand above his head onto the pillow, arching his back in a cat-like stretch, appreciating the lack of tension in his muscles as his body thrummed with satisfaction.

Beside him, Vaako sighed, relaxing limbs that had been wrapped around Riddick's muscled frame only moments before. He rubbed fingers through the stickiness coating his belly and smiled into the darkened room. He was still smiling when Riddick rolled onto his side and propped himself up on one elbow, staring down into Vaako's face. Fingers reached out to trace the smile on his lips before Riddick leaned over to replace those fingers with his own lips. He pulled back after a while and Vaako could see the shimmer of his shined eyes in the semi-darkened room, watching him intently.

"Like it when you smile," Riddick murmured.

Vaako's smile widened. In truth, he'd had little to smile about before Riddick stepped into his life. Every moment from his birth, through his conversion to Necroism and beyond had been a trial, leaving little opportunity to appreciate the finer things in life. Even his marriage to Dame Vaako had been politically motivated, more of an alliance than a marriage if truth be told.

His smile faltered as he thought of her, recalling the way her dark soul had tormented him beyond the threshold. At every opportunity, her rapier sharp words would slash at him and her hate-filled soul would batter against his already weakened spirit. He knew she blamed him for her untimely death even though the hand that plunged the knife into her belly was Riddick's. Treacherous to the last, she had tried to sink her claws into him, seeking to steal what was left of his soul even as the blanket of rage settled over the Necromongers in that final battle between Riddick and Chiestra. Vaako wondered if Riddick truly understood the nature of his fury at that moment, and how it had impacted against not one but two rage-filled women.

Unlike Chiestra, Dame Vaako's soul had not been cleansed by the encounter; it had been vaporized, scattered across UnderVerse. Silently, Vaako hoped he and Riddick would have gone into the light long before her dead soul reformed.

Vaako shuddered. She had come so close to claiming him, to consuming him, and the thought of being lost within her for all time filled him with dread. He shuddered again, simply from knowing he had been so weak at the end that even Dame Vaako could have easily overcome his defenses. All his vaunted strength as a warrior had deserted him. All his vanity and his pride had crumbled beneath the onslaught of the dead souls surrounding him.

How could he retain the rank of First Among Commanders when he had weakened so quickly?

At that moment, the veil separating his childhood from his rebirth to Necroism seemed to drop, revealing the frightened child within him that had scrounged for scraps of food in the dirt of a backwater planet, and scurried like a rat into the sewers to escape the heavy-handed blows of other, stronger misfortunate souls. He thought he had buried that scared little boy many years ago but now the fears of the past reached into the present, threatening to overturn his world once more.

Vaako understood why. His faith had been his rock and his anchor. It had kept him standing strong and proud as he climbed the ranks within the Necromonger army. That foundation had begun to crumble, turning to quicksand beneath his feet, from the moment he saw Riddick on Helion Prime. All he had seen in UnderVerse served only to erode his faith completely, revealing the lies that he had modeled his life upon. He had believed in the Necromonger cause. He had killed and destroyed in their name, exalting in the false belief that he was being compassionate to those who could not -- or would not -- convert.

"Vaako?"

Vaako lowered his face, swiftly turning onto his side, away from those shining eyes, suddenly afraid that Riddick would see him as he truly was. Just a dirty, frightened street rat who'd once had delusions of becoming -- of being -- a great warrior.

"I was weak," he whispered. "I saw many warriors I had known in life... and they were not weak. Irgun was not weak."

"Irgun was full-dead," Riddick responded softly and Vaako turned to face him. A grimace twisted Vaako's lips as he saw the puzzlement in Riddick's eyes.

"Being half-dead should have made me stronger than the others... not weaker." Vaako looked at Riddick intently. "I heard your words to Zhylaw--"

Riddick lifted an eyebrow, his lips twitching upwards in one corner only. Vaako had seen that same look before when Riddick had gone up against Zhylaw in Necropolis. It said more than simple words.

"You... lied?" Vaako felt shaken by Riddick's words. "You went up against an army that outnumbered ours by more than one hundred to one--"

"Closer to two hundred," interrupted Riddick. Vaako paused in thought, letting the overwhelming odds sink in. At the time, he had heard Riddick's words proclaiming the half-dead to be more than a match for the full-dead. He had believed those words, and so had the Necromonger dead surrounding him.

"You said an army of the half-dead was stronger than... You lied."

"Never said my army was stronger. Said I was stronger."

"Why?"

Riddick understood the question and smiled in that soft way that Vaako had come to love. Even so, he thought Riddick would refuse to answer, half expecting his lover to lean forward and try to avoid the question by diverting his attention elsewhere. Instead, Riddick rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling.

"Lost too much already."

Riddick fell silent but Vaako waited patiently. He needed to know the answer, needed to understand what had driven Riddick to such lunacy, walking where angels feared to tread. His patience was rewarded.

"In Slam, there's not much love around. You'd get the occasional inmate all possessive over some bitch... but love? No place for love in the Slams I've seen... and I've seen the inside of plenty. Got myself out of Butcher Bay, went on the run. Mercs hard on my tail. One sick mother in particular... name of Johns. Should have iced him when I had the chance. All that money riding on my ass and he slums it. Takes a second rate cargo transport with its navigation all screwed. Drifted right through a meteor cloud, crash landed on some dead hole. Weren't so bad until the lights went out... then we figured out what happened to the rest of the planet's population." Riddick paused, frowning deeply. "Took two people off that planet. A holy man and a girl... 'cept it shouldn't have been me." He lay deep in thought for several minutes and Vaako could see Riddick was reliving some terrible moment from his past. "No one ever gave a fuck about me before Fry. No one cared if I lived or died. Just another payday." He shook his head as if still confused about what happened. "She died for me."

"You loved her?"

Riddick turned his head. "No... I owed her. Figured saving the holy man and the girl was payment enough. Should have known better. Should have kept my distance. Instead I came to trust them. To care for them. Left the girl with the Imam. Figured she was better off as far away from me as she could get. Still had mercs on my ass." He sighed deeply. "Told only one man where I was going... so when the mercs turned up..."

Vaako snorted softly, quickly fitting the pieces together. "The Holy man was on Helion Prime. Irgun killed this Imam, so you killed Irgun in revenge... or for ruining your revenge."

"Hmmm... that's what I like about you... beautiful," he smirked, rubbing a hand through the spent semen coating Vaako's belly. "But you got brains too. Holy man had his reasons for drawing me back to Helion Prime." Riddick gave Vaako a pointed look that told Vaako that he, or at least the Necromongers, was the reason. "Only other person I ever cared about was Jack... Kyra."

Vaako looked away, recalling the way Riddick had stumbled back in grief after the last breath left the new convert's body. He recalled her face with ease for he had been the one to bring her to Necropolis. She had stepped on-board his ship on Crematoria, preferring life as a Necromonger over instant death beneath the rays of the rising sun. Yet her eyes had seemed dead to him long before the first purification. She seemed more at peace following the process, just as he had been after his first time. Yet the peace did not last. Not for him, nor for her. The love she felt for Riddick endured even through the pain of conversion.

"You loved her." This time he spoke a statement of fact, knowing Riddick could not deny the emotion.

"Yes. I loved her..." and Vaako's heart sank in misery. "...but I wasn't 'in-love' with her." Vaako raised his eyes as fresh hope set his heart beating again but frowned at Riddick's next words. "Do you believe in destiny?"

"Of course."

"Yeah... of course. The Imam believed in destiny. Figured everything happened for a reason. Johns, Fry, him, Jack... You. God moving in mysterious ways."

"I-I always thought you were godless."

"Godless."

Riddick grinned this time, knowing how important such a confession was from a man who had seemed so caught up in his faith. For Vaako to suspect him of having no belief in even one of the many gods of Necroism and yet, doing nothing to remove him from the position of Lord Marshal, it proved that his head and his heart had been in conflict. And it proved that his heart had won that battle, proved that his heart belonged to Riddick just as his heart belonged to Vaako.

"Oh, I believe in God. Absolutely.... and I don't even hate him now. He gave me you."

THE END


End file.
